Nine in 10 Australian motorists have been subjected to road rage,
many of them verbally abused or physically assaulted. The "shocking"
finding emerged from motor insurance group AAMI's 2003 Crash Index, based on
claims data and a survey of 1,600 drivers in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South
Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. "Nine in 10 motorists say they have been
subjected to some form of road rage or anti-social driving behaviour," AAMI
spokesman Geoff Hughes said.

"Shockingly, one in 20 say they have been
physically assaulted by another driver."Fifty-eight per cent of drivers said
they had been verbally abused by another motorist, 75 per cent had been
subjected to rude gestures and almost as many had been tailgated. "Motorists are
becoming more anxious about this trend in road rage behaviour," Mr Hughes said
in a statement. "Two-thirds believe other drivers have become more aggressive in
the last year and three-quarters feel drivers are less courteous than they were
five years ago." Despite their complaints about other road users, many of the
motorists surveyed admitted they had resorted to offensive behaviour while
driving. One in five said they sometimes used rude gestures and nine per
cent admitted to sometimes tailgating or flashing their lights at other cars.
Most of them said they had been driven to aggression by the frustrating
behaviour of other motorists, such as failure to indicate when changing lanes or
driving too closely behind.

Despite their angst at bad behaviour on the roads,
Mr Hughes said around six in 10 of those surveyed did not see speeding fines as
an effective way of curbing inappropriate driving. "Fifty-eight per cent believe
speeding fines are used as a source of revenue," he said. "One in two motorists
feel it is unfair to penalise drivers who are only driving a few kilometres over
the speed limit in 50 and 60kph zones." One-third of motorists admitted to
having driven while they were "probably" over the drink-driving limit, while 22
per cent said they frequently used their mobile phone without a hands-free kit
while driving. Male drivers under 25 were voted the worst on the roads by age
and gender, and cabbies were seen as the worst single road user group, followed
closely by drivers of high-performance vehicles.

NBC 11.com, CA

An irate motorist attacked two crossing guards in San Jose
Tuesday morning leaving one hospitalized with serious injuries, according to
police. The San Jose Police Department is seeking a Hispanic male between
20-30 years old driving a small green car in connection with the attack on two
crossing guards. The incident took place on Martin Avenue near August Boeger
Middle School just before 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. The suspect was driving
erratically and drove through the intersection while the crossing guards held
up their stop signs and children were crossing the street, according to police
spokeswoman Catherine Unger.

He got really angry, pulled over and physically
assaulted one of the crossing guards, punched him in the face and threw him to
the ground," Unger said. Chieu Nguyen, 47, was transported to a local hospital
following the assault, The second crossing guard, Poan Pho, 56, was also
injured after trying to assist Nguyen but has been sent home, Unger said.

Arrest Made In Crossing Guard Road Rage
Attack

POSTED: 9:21 a.m. PDT October 15, 2003

KTVU.com,
CA

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The man suspected
of beating two school crossing guards Tuesday in San Jose was in police
custody, authorities announced early Wednesday morning. Ivan Nunez, 38, of San
Jose, was arrested around 2 a.m. in a motel off Old Oakland Road in San Jose,
according to police spokeswoman Catherine Unger. The department's SWAT team
was assigned the task of finding and apprehending Nunez because "what we found
in his criminal history and the fact that he's a parolee lead us to determine
he was a pretty high-risk suspect," Unger said. But Nunez "gave up without
incident and complied with officers," Unger said.

He is being held for parole
violation and unspecified assault charges in Santa Clara County Jail, and
should be arraigned by Friday, Unger said. It was just before 8 a.m. Tuesday
when Nunez was allegedly driving erratically on Martin Avenue near August Boeger Middle School. He drove through the intersection while the crossing
guards held up their stop signs and children were crossing the street,
according to Unger. "He got really angry, pulled over and physically assaulted
one of the crossing guards, punched him in the face and threw him to the
ground," Unger said. Chieu Nguyen, 47, was transported to a local hospital
following the assault, and according to Unger was still being observed for
possible bleeding on the brain.

The second crossing guard, Poan Pho, 56, was
also injured after trying to assist Nguyen, but was then sent home, Unger
said. After the incident, area residents and passersby were "so astonished" by
what had happened that several people quickly came forward with descriptions
of Nunez and his vehicle, according to Unger. Those tips resulted in his
apprehension, she said. Unger described Nunez as "huge," standing about 5'11"
and weighing 220 pounds. She said he was already on parole for an unspecified
conviction, and does have an extensive criminal history. "When you're on
parole you have to live a pretty straight life, and obviously he didn't
understand that," Unger said

Only the grace of God saved a couple, their infant son and his grandmother from
death in a terrifying road-rage incident on Melbourne's Western Ring Road, a
magistrate said yesterday. The magistrate, John Doherty, heard that the
family were traumatised after drunk-driver Peter John Sparshott terrorised them
with a series of horrific actions. The court was told the driver's wife
frantically rang the police emergency number as Sparshott repeatedly harassed
them in the early hours of May 19 last year. Mr Doherty described the incident
as "like something out of a movie" and said that he could not even imagine what
it must have been like for the victims. In jailing Sparshott, 25, for 15 months,
Mr Doherty told him he had "nearly killed these people but, by the grace of God,
he didn't and he can be thankful for that". Sparshott, who pleaded guilty to
charges of reckless conduct endangering life and driving in a dangerous manner,
must serve a minimum nine months. Sparshott, unemployed, of Longford Court,
Kealba, had his licence cancelled for three years, and was released pending an
appeal. Senior Constable Ash McCulloch, prosecuting, said that Sparshott was
drunk when he drove four times up the wrong side of a Deer Park road, sliding
his car sideways and performing fishtails in front of his girlfriend who refused
to be his passenger.

Senior Constable McCulloch said the pair later continued to
argue at their flat before she rang the police and Sparshott drove away. On the
ring road, when he cut in front of the victims' car, the driver flashed his
lights which made him slam on his brakes, forcing the other driver to swerve to
avoid a collision. The husband drove slowly past Sparshott who suddenly launched
his car over a naturestrip and on to the road before chasing the victims'
vehicle. Senior Constable McCulloch said the family, now worried for their
safety, decided not to drive home to avoid Sparshott following them there. At
one stage Sparshott drove head-on at the victims and later forced the family on
to a median strip as the wife frantically rang for police help. Desperate to
find a populated place, the husband drove at 120km/h before hiding his car among
trucks at a service station, fearing for the lives of his family. Sparshott
searched for the victims but drove off when police lights approached. He was
interviewed later. Defence counsel Charles Tan said Sparshott remembered nothing
of the events, while a psychologist suggested the events were sparked by a major
depressive disorder. Mr Tan said Sparshott's rehabilitation was paramount and
that jailing him would not serve the community's interests.

A motorist was today being hunted by police after smashing the windscreen of a
car during a road rage attack.
Tayside Police said it was the culmination of several incidents between a grey
Daihatsu Four Trak 4x4 and a silver saloon car. The incident started on the
southbound carriageway of Baldovie Road, Dundee, just after 10am yesterday,
police said. After crossing from the northbound carriageway and cutting in front
of the Daihatsu which was travelling southwards, the silver car stopped and the
driver spat at the 4x4. The car then drove off and turned eastwards along the
Arbroath Road at the Claypotts junction. The Daihatsu also continued in the same
direction.

Several minutes later the Daihatsu turned right into the village of Panmurefield, the driver of the car drove out of the village and threw a large
stone, which smashed the windscreen of the 4x4.
The car then headed off westwards towards Dundee. The motorist police are
hunting is described as a white man, aged in his mid 20s. He had short brown
hair and was slim to average build. Police said there was another man around the
same age in the front passenger seat. A force spokesman said: “Anyone who
witnessed the incident, or anyone who can identify the driver of the silver car,
should contact Tayside Police on 01382 223 200.”

A motorist was today being hunted by police after smashing the windscreen of a
car during a road rage attack.
Police said it was the culmination of several incidents between a grey Daihatsu
Four Trak 4x4 and a silver saloon car. The incident started on the southbound
carriageway of Baldovie Road just after 10am yesterday, police said. After
crossing from the northbound carriageway and cutting in front of the Daihatsu,
which was travelling southwards, the silver car stopped and the driver spat at
the 4x4. The car then drove off and turned eastwards along Arbroath Road at the
Claypotts junction. The Daihatsu also continued in the same direction.
Several minutes later the Daihatsu turned right into the village of Panmurefield,
the driver of the car drove out of the village and threw a large stone, which
smashed the windscreen of the 4x4. The car then headed off westwards towards
Dundee.

The motorist police are hunting is described as a white man, aged in his
mid 20s.
He had short brown hair and was slim to average build. Police said there was
another man around the same age in the front passenger seat. A force spokesman
said, “Anyone who witnessed the incident, or anyone who can identify the driver
of the silver car, should contact Tayside Police on 01382 223200.”

BRIDGEPORT -- Police have charged a Bridgeport man in an alleged road rage
incident that was said to have occurred in late August at a Bridgeport
convenience store. Timothy Cutlip, 35, has been charged with malicious wounding,
said Bridgeport Detective M.J. Lemley. Cutlip was arraigned before Harrison
County Chief Magistrate Mark Gorby and released on a $5,000 surety bond, Lemley
said. A preliminary hearing is set for Oct. 20, Lemley said. The situation at
the Bridgeport Go Mart along U.S. 50 resulted in a Taylor County woman being
taken to United Hospital Center for what turned out to be minor injuries, police
have said. The identity of the woman, who was struck with a hammer, has not been
released.

The woman had children in the vehicle during the incident, Lemley
said. A security videotape from Go Mart, shown during an area television
newscast, eventually resulted in a lead that identified Cutlip as a potential
suspect, Lemley said. Cutlip was asked to come to the police department and,
once there, admitted to being at the store, but said he did not strike the
victim. "After that, we did a photo lineup and had the victim come in to the
department," Lemley said. "She picked him out of the lineup. After that, I
obtained a warrant for his arrest." The alleged victim said she was attacked the
evening of Aug. 22 while driving her 1994 GMC Sierra truck on U.S. 50 toward
Bridgeport from Taylor County, according to police.

The alleged victim
unsuccessfully tried to pass several motorcycles near the AFG (Fourco) Road,
according to the police report. She said every time she tried to pass, the
motorcycles sped up. Apparently, her inability to pass the motorcycles
infuriated the driver of a "white vehicle" behind her, according to police. The
situation remained the same until she turned into the Go Mart, where the vehicle
behind her did the same, according to police. The man in the white vehicle got
out, yelled at the alleged victim and then hit her in the forehead and the
forearm with a hammer, according to police.

A Woodbury man faces charges as a result of an incident on October 10 that
Newtown police described as an apparent case of road rage. Gary Wamser, 43, was
charged with breach of the peace in the second degree and failure to obey a
traffic signal after the incident that took place at 7:35 am on Church Hill Road
at the westbound off ramp of I-84. The victim, identified only as Linda Hill,
told police that she was driving through a green light at the intersection when
Wamser's black Ford Mustang turned right off the ramp in front of her without
stopping, forcing her to brake to avoid hitting him. She told police that when
she flashed her headlights at Wamser, he stopped his vehicle, got out and
approached her, shouting obscenities. He then reached through the open window on
the driver's side of her car and struck her in the head, she said.

Ms Hill
told police that Wamser returned to his vehicle and drove away, turning on
Commerce Road and into the parking lot of the post office. Newtown Police found
Wamser's car in the employee parking lot of the post office. He disputed Ms
Hill's version of the incident. Wamser was arrested on the charges, then
released on a promise to appear Danbury Superior Court on October 24. It was the
second traffic incident categorized as road rage in Newtown last week. On
October 6 a Naugatuck man was arrested on a charge of reckless driving when
police said he caused an accident on I-84 that resulted in non-life-threatening
injuries to a Danbury woman and her 4-year-old daughter.

The victims had to be
extricated from their vehicle by firefighters from Newtown Hook and Ladder.
Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe said there is no charge known as "road rage"
but other charges can be lodged in such incidents. "There are charges such as
following too close to intimidate," he said. The increasing number of cars on
the road, particularly at rush hour, has resulted in an increasing number of
such incidents. "As traffic becomes more difficult through Connecticut, the
incidence of road rage could continue to increase," Chief Kehoe said.

FRUSTRATED Ballarat motorists are driving the road rage epidemic home in
frightening numbers. One-in-six Ballarat drivers have admitted to using rude
gestures when they get angry behind the wheel, while 43 per cent will sound
their horn at drivers, according to a recent survey. The two most common causes
of frustration on regional roads are drivers failing to indicate and drivers
failing to move over to allow other cars to pass. The AAMI Crash Index survey
also found: Nine-in-10 drivers, from Ballarat, Bendigo and Shepparton, have been
subjected to some form of road rage or anti-social behaviour; Three-quarters
have been subjected to rude gestures from other drivers; 70 per cent say they
have been tailgated; More than half of central Victorian drivers have been
verbally abused; and four per cent have been physically assaulted.

The bad
report card for local drivers has prompted Ballarat police to call for a return
of old-fashioned values such as courtesy. Acting Senior Sergeant Ross Humphrey,
who was surprised by the figures, said there had been incidents in Ballarat
where road rage drivers have followed other drivers and tailgated motorists. "I
don't know why people let themselves get upset by minor infringements," he said.

PHILADELPHIA (KYW) Philadelphia police say road rage may have met a new low,
after a driver attacked a pregnant woman over her driving. Police say the woman,
who is seven months pregnant, was hit in the stomach after a verbal exchange
with another driver near Harbison avenue in Northeast Philadelphia. Police say
the heavy-set man chipped the woman's tooth, as well as pulling her hair. Both
mother and baby are in good shape.

DENVER (News 4) Road rage is apparently alive and well on highways in Denver.
Police have a license plate number and are looking to issue a warrant for a
woman accused of a road rage incident aimed at a family of four, News 4 reports.
The incident happened Wednesday during afternoon rush hour on Interstate 70 near
the Colorado Boulevard exit. Manuel Cardona Alba, of Aurora, Colo., was in the
car with his wife and two children when he said an angry woman rammed his bumper
twice on the highway. He called police, who told him to exit off the highway. He
said the woman then followed him, got out of her car while he waited at a red
light, and punched through his driver's side window. "She came to my window and
she said, 'Come on,'" Alba told News 4. "I didn't say anything. I was scared,
and surprised that she was doing that."The broken glass cut Alba's face and his
wife's hands. Police said that if they find the driver, she faces charges for
assault and leaving the scene of an accident.

A LORRY driver was jailed for three months at Manchester Crown Court for what a
judge described as "a bad example of road rage." Judge Anthony Ensor told
William Gardner: "This must have been a very frightening experience for the
motorist. "I am in no doubt you are a man with a short fuse and the public has
to be protected from road rage." Gardner, 56, of Brantingham Road, Whalley Range
admitted disorderly behaviour and damaging a wing mirror and a mobile phone.
Prosecutor William Staunton said motorist Clive Bretherton had to pull in front
of Gardner's lorry when three lanes filtered into two, on Princess Parkway in
Chorlton. Gardner drove up behind him, flashed his lights and sounded his horn.
At a junction Gardner got out of his lorry and verbally abused Mr Bretherton,
who noticed that Gardener had damaged his wing mirror. He stopped in front of
the lorry at another junction and got out to phone the police. Gardner
approached and told him to move his car "or I'll rip your head off". There was
some grappling and the phone was damaged when it hit the ground.

A COUPLE had their car window smashed showering the woman with glass during a
road-rage incident. The young couple from St Albans were on the way to watch
Watford play Walsall on Tuesday when they say they were cut up by a dark
coloured H-registered Honda Civic or Honda Prelude. After they flashed their
lights, the driver of the Honda began reversing towards them. The incident at
about 6.30pm in St Albans Road, near TGI Friday, was witnessed by an off-duty
special constable. Special constable Nikki Bowles said: "First he stopped by
braking hard and then started to reverse.

"Then he got out and punched his fist
through the passenger window and drove off at high speed." Concerned for the
safety of the female passenger the special constable flagged the Peugeot down to
find the girl shaken by the incident. Special Constable Bowles said: "The girl
was covered in glass. They were really nice but really shaken up." Police
confirmed the driver of the Honda was a black male about 6.1" tall with a stocky
build. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to telephone the
western area road policing unit on 01923 472320.

HAMBLEN COUNTY (WATE) -- A grand jury in Hamblen County has indicted a Tazewell
man accused in a deadly road rage incident. Forty-six-year-old Patrick Allen
Marsh now faces voluntary manslaughter charges. Investigators said Marsh killed
Alabama truck driver Billy Ray Snipes when he shot him in the face in February
2003. The two apparently stopped to confront each other on Interstate 81 near
Morristown. If convicted, Marsh could face up to six years in prison.

Device Promises To 'Terminate' Road Rage
Couple Works On Improved Version

A local man's invention could help calm aggressive drivers on local roadways,
according to Local 4's Business Editor Rod Meloni. A device called the Road Rage
Terminator promises to bring courtesy to the road.

Don Krzesowiak, a Clinton Township building maintenance worker, wondered what
would happen if he started applying politeness to the road, using "the two words
you learn first in life, please and thank you." The idea struck him five
years ago while wedging his car into thick traffic, Local 4 reported. And rather
than let the idea pass, Krzesowiak and his wife, Maria, started to work to
patent what they're calling the Road Rage Terminator. The paperwork finally came
last year, Local 4 reported. The couple then went forward with their first
design, and, finally, a prototype.

The device is attached to the turning signal
wires of a vehicle, and when activating the left or right blinker, the
Terminator blinks a message saying, "Please." Once the blinker is deactivated,
the Terminator blinks a message that says, "Thank You." The couple is expected
to start building a much brighter and easier to read version of the Terminator
for aftermarket sales in the near future, Local 4 reported. "I think that it's
going to be a great help, I really do. I think it's a start and I think that
people want to be kind and courteous to each other and sometimes they don't know
how to do that," said Maria Krzesowiak.

The couple has started their own company, hired a local sign maker to build the
Road Rage Terminator and are doing some of their own marketing research for the
device. "I hope to see it not only in Detroit, but all over the country and all
over the world," said Maria.

CLARKSBURG -- The case of a man charged in an alleged road rage incident in
Bridgeport is headed to Harrison County Circuit Court after a magistrate found
probable cause on Monday. Timothy S. Cutlip, 35, of Bridgeport, is charged with
malicious wounding. He is alleged to have used a hammer to strike a motorist who
had pulled over at Bridgeport's Go-Mart. Cutlip struck three times, the alleged
victim said Monday. She suffered a bruise from a blow to her right arm and a
concussion from a blow to her head. Cutlip also struck the visor of her car with
the hammer, the alleged victim testified.

She punched Cutlip first, when he
approached her car in an agitated state, the alleged victim testified. The
alleged confrontation was touched off as the woman, en route from Taylor County
to Bridgeport with her children in her pickup, had problems passing a group of
motorcycles, authorities have indicated. Traci M. Cook, an assistant prosecutor
for the office of Harrison Prosecutor Joe Shaffer, represented the state.
Detective M.J. Lemley of Bridgeport Police investigated. The defense attorney
was Morgantown lawyer J. Bryan Edwards. In other court news:

- Donald Radabaugh, 19, of Clarksburg, has pleaded guilty to burglary and will
be sentenced Dec. 1 by Harrison County Chief Circuit Judge John Lewis Marks Jr.,
said Assistant Prosecutor Jerry Blair. Radabaugh used a screwdriver to open the
front door of his neighbor's home, then grabbed a purse from a guest who was
asleep on the couch, Blair said. Clarksburg Police Detective John Sedlock,
investigating the theft shortly after it happened, went by Radabaugh's dwelling
and noticed nothing in front of it, Blair said. But later, Sedlock went by and
saw the stolen purse, which apparently had been put outside, Blair said. Sedlock
eventually obtained a confession from Radabaugh, Blair said. John S. "Sam" Folio
was the defense attorney. - Christopher Knight, 28, of Clarksburg, has entered a
plea to second-degree arson. However, Marks put off accepting the plea pending
completion of a presentence report.

Marks set the next hearing in the case for
Nov. 8. Knight, indicted on a charge of first-degree arson, is represented by
attorney Dreama D. Sinkkanen. Assistant Prosecutor Scott Reynolds is handling
the state's case. Assistant State Fire Marshal Mackey Ayersman investigated. -
Jason Paul Zannino, 32, of Clarksburg, has entered a plea to misdemeanor failure
to pay child support and has been placed on two years' probation by Marks, Blair
said. Zannino, who has no prior criminal record, was represented by Folio, Blair
said. Clarksburg Police officer Jason Snider investigated. - Myron S. Magruder,
29, of Clarksburg, has entered a plea to misdemeanor failure to pay child
support and has been placed on five years' probation, Assistant Prosecutor Kurt
W. Hall said. State Police Trooper 1st Class M.E. Sanders investigated. Magruder,
who had no prior criminal record, was represented by attorney Keith Skeen, Hall
said.

- Breaking and entering and grand larceny charges against Chrystopher Gooden,
23, of Smithfield have been sent on to circuit court, Hall said. Gooden is
accused in connection with a theft from Rob's Wallace Mart in Wallace, Hall
said. Harrison County Magistrate Brenda J. Anselene found probable cause, moving
the case on, Hall said. The case was investigated by Trooper 1st Class R.L.
Talkington.

- Breaking and entering and attempted breaking and entering charges against
Linda Riggs, 44, of Clarksburg, have been sent on to circuit court after Riggs
waived her preliminary hearing before Harrison County Magistrate Tammy Marple.
Hall was the prosecutor. Clarksburg Police Detective Sgt. C.A. Dytzel
investigated.

The case against convicted road rage murderer Owen Kroeger of Alberton was today
postponed to December for mitigatory evidence and sentencing in the Johannesburg
High Court. The defence asked for the postponement because it was not satisfied
with one of the pre-sentence reports. The family of the victim, Morare Matekane,
was apparently not consulted when the report was drawn up. Kroeger was convicted
in June of shooting and killing 38-year-old Matekane of Meadowlands in Soweto,
without justification.

Matekane was travelling on a motorcycle when he slightly
damaged one of the side mirrors on Kroeger's car. The incident happened during
peak hour traffic at the intersection of Marshal and End Streets in the
Johannesburg city centre in August 2001. Kroeger shot Matekane once in the
chest. Matekane died at the scene. The case was postponed to December 11 and 12.
- Sapa

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Tempers have flared behind the wheel in recent days in the
Triangle. And the latest case of road rage involves a gun. Garner police
arrested the president of a local chamber of commerce for pulling a pistol on
another driver. A lot of people have been in the same situation -- cruising on
the highway, or through an intersection, and someone cuts them off. So they lie
on the horn, or maybe make a face or a gesture. But as two people discovered in
Garner Monday night, responding to road rage can be dangerous. Many people who
drive have experienced road rage. How they handle it can mean the difference
between life and -- in extreme cases -- death. "It is best not to be
confontational at all," said Capt. Dennis Poteat, of the Raleigh Police
Department. But words led to confrontation Monday night. Michael Kevin Nelson,
who happens to be the president of the Garner Chamber of Commerce, was arrested
for allegedly pointing a gun at another couple from inside his SUV on Highway
70.

The man and woman said they did not turn right on red, and it apparently
angered Nelson. "It just went on for several miles, at a couple of different
intersections," said Garner police spokesman Jon Blum. "During the course of the
time, one of the people in the white Ford Excursion pulled out a gun, allegedly
displayed a weapon, and pointed it at the people in the other vehicle." Saturday
night, in another case of road rage, a man named Shawn Graham was charged with
running over another driver on the side of the road with his tow truck after an
argument. "When people pull off the road, it escalates to shouting or a shoving
match," Poteat said, "and it could result in assaultive behavior." Police said
the best advice is to not engage other drivers. "You do not know where a person
is coming from, what their mindset is, what they've been doing," Poteat said.
"They could have an illegal weapon.

They could have a weapon coming back from a
hunting trip." Said Blum: "I think sometimes the anonymity of being inside a
vehicle allows people to behave in certain ways because they can run away. I
think the vehicle leads to inappropriate behavior sometimes." Nelson did not
return WRAL's calls or messages Tuesday. The man and woman who were the alleged
victims in Monday's case spoke off-camera. They said Nelson pointed the gun
right at them, and they were terrified.

Device Promises To 'Terminate' Road Rage
Couple Works On Improved Version

NBC Sandiego.com, CA

A Detroit-area man's invention could help calm aggressive drivers on local
roadways, according to WDIV-TV.
A device called the Road Rage Terminator promises to bring courtesy to the road.
Don Krzesowiak, a Clinton Township building maintenance worker, wondered what
would happen if he started applying politeness to the road, using what he calls
"the two words you learn first in life, please and thank you." The idea struck
him five years ago while wedging his car into thick traffic. And rather than let
the idea pass, Krzesowiak and his wife, Maria, started to work to patent what
they call the Road Rage Terminator. The paperwork finally came last year, WDIV
reported.

The couple then went forward with their first design, and, finally, a
prototype. The device is attached to the turn-signal wires of a vehicle, and
when activating the left or right blinker, the Terminator blinks a message
saying, "Please." Once the blinker is deactivated, the Terminator blinks a
message that says, "Thank You." The couple is expected to start building a much
brighter and easier-to-read version of the Terminator for aftermarket sales in
the near future. "I think that it's going to be a great help, I really do. I
think it's a start and I think that people want to be kind and courteous to each
other and sometimes they don't know how to do that," said Maria Krzesowiak. The
couple has started their own company, hired a local sign maker to build the Road
Rage Terminator and are doing some of their own marketing research for the
device.
"I hope to see it not only in Detroit, but all over the country and all over the
world," said Maria.

TWO women were left shaken after a man smashed a bottle over their car and
hurled abuse at them. The road rage incident happened in broad daylight on one
of Cambridge's busiest roads and police are appealing for witnesses to come
forward. Trouble flared just after 4pm on Sunday when the women exchanged words
with the driver of a silver Mercedes convertible. He got out of his car and
began raving at the frightened women before smashing the bottle on their car.
After the attack he got back into his car and drove off in the direction of
Newmarket Road. Pc Jonathan Lockwood of Cambridge police said: "We would like to
speak to anyone who may have been travelling along East Road around the time of
the incident and saw something suspicious."
If you can help call Pc Lockwood at Parkside Police Station on (01223) 358966 or
call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

A BUILDER waved an object which looked like a machete during a road rage
incident in Princess Alexandra Hospital's car park, a court heard on Monday. The
incident was triggered by an argument over a car parking space, Mark Halsey,
prosecuting, told Chelmsford Crown Court. Christopher Walker, 43, of Catalin
Court, Waltham Abbey, admitted affray. He was made the subject of an 18-month
community rehabilitation order, a condition being that he attends an aggression
replacement programme. He was also ordered to pay £700 compensation to Alec Lord
for the damage to his car and the distress he caused, plus £450 prosecution
costs.
Judge Rodger Hayward-Smith told Walker:

"Your behaviour was appalling. You have
escaped prison by a hair's breadth. You are a very lucky man." Mr Halsey said
that on November 22 last year Mr Lord went to visit his child at the hospital
and was looking for a parking space. He was about to park his car when the
defendant's white Polo went into the space he had been waiting for. Mr Lord was
upset and sounded his horn.

The two men began shouting and swearing at each other and Walker said: "I've got
a knife here and I'm going to stab you." Mr Lord decided to call Walker's bluff
and walked over and kicked the front nearside tyre of his car. Walker got out
and then produced what several witnesses described as a knife or machete. He
began shouting obscenities and told Mr Lord: "I'm going to kill you. I've got
your registration number and I'm going to find you and kill you." He used the
weapon to scrape a two-foot-long line across the bonnet of Mr Lord's car. He
also spat at the car and over Mr Lord's jacket. Walker was then seen to push the
object up his sleeve and drive off, said Mr Halsey. Damage to Mr Lord's car
amounted to £584. The cut across the bonnet was so deep the car had to be
resprayed. The court heard Walker had a previous conviction in 1998 for common
assault and threatening behaviour relating to another road rage incident.

In
July this year he was made the subject of a community rehabilitation order for
common assault. This concerned a dispute, seven days after the hospital car park
affray, at a petrol station when he pushed someone away. In mitigation Joanne Critchley said the object Walker produced was a breeze-block trowel, although he
accepted it could have looked like a machete. The incident began with an
argument over a parking space. Mr Lord perceived he was the one entitled to take
it and the defendant perceived that Mr Lord had taken his parking space. After
some shouting, Walker initially returned to his car and was about to drive off
when Mr Lord came over and began kicking the front tyre.

There was an element of
provocation, she said. Walker then went to the boot of his car, took out the
trowel and things got completely out of control. Miss Critchley said Walker had
kept out of trouble for the last year and she urged the court to allow an
existing community rehabilitation order to continue. Judge Hayward-Smith told
Walker: "You were wielding a weapon which may not have been a machete but it
certainly looked like one to others who saw you waving it about in a threatening
manner. You have a record for incidents which are akin to road rage." He added
that it was with some hesitation that he was allowing Walker his liberty.

BOYERTOWN -- In just eight minutes, Timothy Krause got into a bar fight, ran
over two motorcyclists and smashed into a vehicle on Route 100 while driving
from Barto to Pottstown, prosecutors and witnesses said in court Wednesday. The
drive from the Cheers bar in Barto to the State Street intersection of Route 100
should have taken longer than that. But on July 19, Krause drove so fast in his
green Dodge pickup that he had enough time to detour at Railroad Street in
Colebrookdale and intentionally smash into a motorcycle occupied by two people
in the parking lot of Papa Bernard’s Pisize="3a, according to prosecutors. Somehow,
Todd and Pat Rogers survived.

"The truck came flying in, hit the motorcycle, and
shot them right into the air," Chad Scott testified Wednesday at Krause’s
preliminary hearing. "They went flying like rag dolls; I was amazed they were
even alive." There was no testimony about Krause’s motives on that day. But this
case isn’t the only one in which he’s accused of violence. On Sept. 6, according
to police in Pottstown, Krause rammed a friend’s pickup truck into the State
Street Tavern while on a jealous rampage. He then gunned down his estranged
wife’s boyfriend, Mark T. Brower Sr., in an alley outside the bar. After killing
Brower, Krause went after his wife inside the bar, but a feisty bartender named
Jacqueline Cuevas fought him off with a baseball bat until police arrived, court
records state. Krause’s preliminary hearing for the murder charges is scheduled
for 10 a.m. Friday before District Justice Thomas Palladino in Pottstown.

After
Wednesday’s hearing, District Justice Michael Hartman held all the charges
related to the July aggravated assault with a motor vehicle. Colebrookdale
police and the Berks County District Attorney’s office are handling that case,
in which Krause is accused of treating a 10-mile stretch of Route 100 like a
smash-up derby. Both Todd and Pat Rogers were injured in the incident. Pat
Rogers will remain in therapy for about two more years. She suffered a broken
back, a dislocated shoulder and a broken collarbone, according to her testimony.
She was in a hospital trauma center for five days and was bedridden for six
weeks. "I can’t bend over, and my doctors told me I can’t lift anything heavier
than a pound," she testified. Krause was motionless throughout the hearing.

The
prosecution lined up more than 30 witnesses who saw Krause’s green Dodge pickup
that day on its way from Barto to State Street. The pickup truck hasn’t been
found. The eight-minute rampage started at 8:03 p.m. in the Cheers bar in Barto,
according to testimony. Shawn Ingram, a cook at the bar, said he saw Krause
drinking with two other men, neither of whom has been identified. An argument
ensued, and Krause and one of the men went outside to fight. A few minutes
later, Krause’s opponent came back into the bar without his shirt on and with
Krause’s blood on his hands, records state. The man announced that he "beat the
(expletive) out of (Krause)," according to testimony from the bartender, Anita
McVicker. Ingram then called 911 because the two men refused to leave the bar.

The call came into the radio room at the state police barracks in Reading at
8:03 p.m., records state. Krause left the bar in his pickup and tore through the
streets of Bechtelsville, Colebrookdale and Douglass (Mont.), frequently losing
control and causing two accidents, according to police. "He looked distressed,"
Guy Stables testified. "He had really long hair, and he kept pulling it down in
front of his face, as if he was trying to disguise himself." Danette Stauffer
was on Main Street in Bechtelsville when she heard tires screeching. She ran
into the street to get a better view, and that’s she saw the green pickup truck.

"I had to dive out of the way," Stauffer said. At 8:05 p.m., Colebrookdale
police received a call over the radio about a green pickup truck ramming a
motorcycle in a parking lot off Railroad Street. Six minutes later, Upper
Pottsgrove police received a call about a hit-and-run at the State Street
intersection of Route 100. A white Mitsubishi Mirage driven by Dean Leggio was
sideswiped by a green pickup truck while stopped at a red light, police said.
The truck hit Leggio’s car as it tried to squeeze between it and a car stopped
in the turning lane, according to police. The truck then skidded through the
intersection, almost hitting another vehicle, before it disappeared down State
Street, police said. Krause wasn’t charged in the accidents until after he was
arrested and charged with the murder in Pottstown seven weeks later.

(Muskegon, October 24, 2003, 11:45 a.m.) The Muskegon man prosecutors say
knowingly drove away from the scene of a road rage accident, which ended in a
young woman's death, has been sentenced. Friday morning, Garry Willer Junior
received six months in jail and three years probation. Willer also has to pay
restitution and undergo counseling for anger management and substance abuse.
Willer pled no contest last month to leaving an accident scene. Twenty-year-old
Diyamond Foster lost control of her car and died after police say Foster and
Willer were involved in a road rage accident on I-96 last July. "It saddens me
that he didn't get more time, but he'll have to deal with God and his
conscience, like I've said before," said Foster's mother, Kay Shabasize="3, after the
sentencing. Diyamond Foster's friends and family have formed an organization
called Reaching Out Against Road Rage, or ROAR. They hope it will help stop road
rage and support victims of it.

PARKERSBURG - A road rage incident went from bad to worse Friday when a man was
stabbed in the arm, police said. Police still are searching for one of the
individuals involved in the 3 p.m. altercation.
The incident began on Dudley Avenue in the area of 31st Street, said Detective
Decker Moody, Parkersburg Police Department. A tan-colored, full-size pickup
truck with an Ohio license plate pulled out in front of a maroon Oldsmobile,
Moody said. What followed is typical of most road rage incidents, said police
Chief Robert Newell. Moody said the driver of the Oldsmobile honked his horn at
the driver of the truck. The driver of the truck, in turn, made an obscene
gesture at the driver of the Oldsmobile, Newell said.

The truck then pulled off
Dudley Avenue to let the Oldsmobile go around, Moody said. The truck pulled back
onto the road behind the Oldsmobile and began following it closely. The road
rage exchange continued on Dudley Avenue and the vehicles turned onto Emerson
Avenue, police said. Moody said the driver of the Oldsmobile tried to get away
from the pursuing truck but was unsuccessful. The truck followed the Oldsmobile
down 36th Street, Moody said. Both vehicles then turned onto Liberty Street and
stopped. The driver of the truck exited his vehicle and the passenger of the car
did the same. "The passenger of the car displayed a knife," Moody said.

An altercation ensued and the man who brandished the knife ended up being
stabbed in the upper portion of his left arm, Moody said. It is not clear if the
driver of the truck took the knife away from the passenger of the car or if the
stab wound occurred some other way during the altercation, Moody said. After
apparently stabbing the passenger of the car with his own knife, the driver of
the truck fled from the scene, Moody said.
The passenger of the Oldsmobile got back into the vehicle and was driven to
Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital. Police were called by witnesses to the
altercation, who reported a stabbing and a large amount of blood on the ground.
Moody said the victim's injuries were not life-threatening.

Police later identified and interviewed the two men in the Oldsmobile, Moody
said. Authorities are withholding their names pending the completion of an
investigation, he said. The driver of the truck has not been located. Anyone who
witnessed the incident is asked to contact the detective bureau of the police
department at 424-8440. Newell said it would be in the best interest of the
driver of the truck to turn himself in to police. Charges could be filed against
all parties involved, Newell said, but that is not certain. Road rage incidents
are common and quite dangerous, Newell said. Every incident is taken seriously.
"People have to learn to have patience with one another," Newell said

Aurora Woman Charged In Road-Rage Incident
Suspect Allegedly Punches Out Window Of Another Car In Fit Of Rage
KMGH, CO

DENVER -- Formal charges were filed Monday against an Aurora, Colo., woman in
connection with an alleged road-rage incident Oct. 15. Formal charges have been
filed against Shalmir Petsche in connection with a road rage incident on
Interstate 70. Shalmir Petsche, 20 (pictured, left), is charged with two counts
of felony second-degree assault, one count of felony criminal mischief and one
count of misdemeanor third-degree assault. According to the District Attorney's
Office, Petsche allegedly ran into the back of the another car on Interstate 70
near Colorado Boulevard and then followed the driver and his family off the
highway until they stopped at a red light. Petsche allegedly punched out the
driver-side window of the other car while the family of four was huddled inside
and then fled the scene. The driver of the other car took down the suspect's
license plate number and called police, who traced it to the suspect. Petsche is
currently being held in the Denver County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

New Delhi: Two brothers used iron rods to beat a man to death after he ran into
one of them on his bicycle, in another case of road rage here. The victim was
returning to his place of work after delivering cooking gas cylinders to
customers on his bicycle, when his pillion rider lost his balance. The impact
caused the cyclist, identified only as Jitender, 25, to crash into a bystander,
causing him minor injuries. The infuriated bystander with the help of his
brother then beat the man unconscious, the report said. One of the brothers then
took Jitender to hospital but he was pronounced dead.

Jitender's relatives later
told the police that the brothers had hit him with iron rods.One of the brothers
is in police custody and the other has fled, the report said. Incidents of
violence by angry motorists in the Indian capital are frequently reported,
despite appeals by doctors, social activists and police to motorists to remain
calm while travelling. Among the many instances of road rage in New Delhi this
year was the shooting of a woman who stopped to intervene in an argument on the
road. Sunita Chaddha was shot dead for attempting to broker peace between a
hapless scooter-rider and three men. In another incident, an irate truck driver
mowed down a man who accidentally hit his car. - Sapa-AFP

Road Rage Driver Kills Man On Northern Blvd. In Queens
By Marcus Solis
(Corona-WABC, October 28, 2003) — It began on a street corner in Corona. It
appeared to be a simple dispute but when it was over one man was dead, and
another now is facing charges in his death. Police have arrested a 17-year-old
suspect and charged him with assault. It is a quick arrest in this case, but
that is of little consolation to friends who are mourning the death of someone
who was a fixture in this neighborhood for nearly 30 years. Crime scene
detectives were back on Northern Boulevard as their investigation continues. On
Monday, Linwood Purdy, a neighborhood fixture, was killed in an apparent case of
road rage. He was killed on his 50th birthday.

Purdy was actually a pedestrian
crossing the street too slowly for a motorist who got out of his car and punched
him. Resident: "Linwood was the type of guy that would help you if you needed
it. He did a lot of mechanic work. He helped me with working on my car. He was
not bad at all." Witnesses were able to get a partial license plate number as
the white minivan sped off. Police have arrested 17-year-old Jordan Tavarez in
connection with the killing. Duke Talbot, Victim's Friend: "Whoever jumped out
of the car shouldn't have done that. That doesn't make any sense." As for
charges against Jordan Tavarez, he's accused of assault right now. Initially, it
was reported that Mr. Purdy had been hit on the head with an object. However,
that is not the case. It appears he was punched, fell back and hit his head.
Will Tavarez be charged with murder? That may depend on autopsy results, and
prosecutors say the matter's still under investigation.

A Bethel, Minnesota man is recovering from injuries he suffered in a road rage
attack Wednesday evening.
The Anoka County Sheriff's office is looking for the driver of a dark blue or
black Jeep Cherokee Sport that was on Round Lake Boulevard in Coon Rapids at
7:15 p.m. Police say the driver of the Cherokee cut off a car on Round Lake
Boulevard. Both vehicles entered the parking lot of the UPS Store at 13055
Riverdale Dr. The driver then allegedly exited his car and attacked the
passenger of the other vehicle with the blunt end of a hatchet. The victim, 31,
suffered head injuries. He was treated and released from Mercy Hospital
Wednesday evening. The suspect is described as a white male, six-feet tall, and
of average build. He has short brown or black hair and is described as being
"clean cut." It is not clear from police reports if the victim was acting
aggressively at the time of the attack. Anyone with information on the attack is
urged to call the Anoka County Sheriff's Department at 763-427-1212.

October 30, 2003 — Chicago police are investigating a possible case of deadly
road rage on the West Side.
A 22-year old man was sitting in his vehicle on the 4900- block of West Harrison
when he was fatally shot just after midnight. Investigators believe the victim
got into a verbal confrontation with someone on the street before the shooting.
The victim's identity has yet to be released.

Road-rage trucker takes out five bikesIndependent Online,
South Africa
October 31 2003 at 01:50PM

PANAMA CITY BEACH - A man who had argued with six members of the Outlaws
motorbike gang ran them down with a stolen truck, killing two and seriously
injuring a third. Witnesses told police the driver chased the bikers for about a
kilometre before hitting the victims and dragging them along the road. "He
pulled up behind the five motorcycles, hit the accelerator, and ploughed right
through them," Deputy Police Chief David Humphreys said. A woman died on the
scene and a male biker was declared dead at Bay Medical Centre in nearby Panama
City. - Sapa-AP

Authorities in Anoka County are still searching for a man who assaulted another
with the butt end of an axe. Police say the assault was a result of road rage.
Shaun Woods says he was driving down Round Lake Boulevard about 7 o'clock last
night, his brother Thomas, the victim in this case, was his passenger. Woods
told me he was taking his brother to pick up a package at a UPS store, when he
accidentally cut off another driver. That driver then apparently began flashing
his high beams, and cut in front of the Woods vehicle on Round Lake Boulevard
and slammed on his brakes. Police say both vehicles eventually pulled into the
parking lot at this UPS store in Coon Rapids. Sean Woods says his brother got
out of the car and was headed to the door of the store.

“The suspect pulled into
the spot next to them and proceeded to assault one of the two brothers, striking
him on the head several times with what the victim described as a small hatchet
or axe.”The suspect is described as a white male, early to mid 20s, six feet tall, short
brown or black hair, wearing a black jacket. The vehicle is a dark blue or black
Jeep Cherokee Sport 4 door with gold pin striping. Anyone with information is
urged to contact the Anoka County Sheriff's Office. I also spoke to the victim
Thomas Woods. He received 4 stitches, 3 on his forehead and one on his skull.
The Woods say the suspect took three swings at him with the back end of the axe.
They also say they did not intentionally provoke the suspect in any way.

Kyle Stunkard received the maximum 15-year jail sentence Friday after he was
found guilty of manslaughter in an Osceola County road rage incident last year.
Orange-Osceola Circuit Court Judge Margaret T. Waller agreed with Orange-Osceola
State Attorney’s Office prosecutors in handing down the maximum sentence the
manslaughter charge carried. Initially facing second-degree murder, a jury found
Stunkard guilty of the lesser charge in June after prosecutors said Stunkard,
22, stabbed Kissimmee resident Steve Buckholz, 33, eight times with a butterfly
knife, cutting his carotid artery and piercing his heart, after the two men had
engaged in a confrontation on Pleasant Hill Road exactly one year ago on Nov. 1,
2002.

“We were surprised with the severity of the sentence,” said Thomas D. Sommerville, Stunkard’s attorney. “We will appeal. The family is
devastated.”Waller set a 30-day timeline to appeal the sentence. “It was
devastating for both families,” said Christine Buckholz, Steve’s widow. “That
boy ruined his life. I feel for his family.”Before he learned his fate, Stunkard
read lines from a prepared statement. “I’m sorry this has happened. I’m sorry
for Mrs. Buckholz’s family,” he said. “My life has been a nightmare since.” The
trial showcased a road rage incident that began with Buckholz tailgating
Stunkard on Pleasant Hill Road. According to court testimony, Stunkard, who was
driving a black truck, jammed on his breaks in front of Buckholz’s red truck.
The two men then began exchanging words on the road, witnesses testified.
Buckholz, who had his 3-year-old daughter in a rear car seat, then followed
Stunkard home. On the day of the stabbing, Stunkard told authorities in a taped
statement that Buckholz got out of his truck, walked up his driveway and
approached him as he stepped out of his truck.

Buckholz who was also holding a knife, Stunkard said, grabbed him by the throat
and shoved him against the side of his vehicle. Buckholz’s folding knife was
later found in the cab of Stunkard’s truck. Stunkard said when Buckholz slipped
into a small culvert at the foot of his truck, he stabbed him twice with the
knife he had in his vehicle. Before the melee ended, testimony showed that
Stunkard had stabbed Buckholz six more times.
Defense attorneys called it self-defense. Prosecutors said it was an unnecessary
use of force. Final statements from friends and family members were allowed
before the sentence was read. “He’s very regretful,” said Kyle’s sister, Dana
Stunkard. “He wished he could take it back.”But the Buckholz camp said Stunkard
has never been sorry for his actions. “We hope his incarceration will restore
values and remorse in him,” said Gayle Buckholz, Steve’s mother. Kyle, dressed
in a dark suit and his hands handcuffed in front of him, stood stoically as he
was led out of the courtroom. “This was a tragedy all around,” Sommerville said.

Heavily traveled Ohio 18 at Interstate 71 east of Medina already is a traffic
mess at times. Expect it to get worse before it gets better. If possible,
through traffic should stay away in the coming months as the state starts the
first of three major projects totaling more than $27 million for Ohio 18, said
Tom O'Leary, district deputy director for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
"It's not going to be pretty," O'Leary said. "We're asking for people to help
out." Work will start in December on widening Ohio 18 to eight lanes, from the
current five, on a one-mile stretch of road near I-71. Just about the time that
work gets done, ODOT will start a two-year, $18 million reconstruction of Ohio
18 from just east of I-71 to the Summit County line.

Then, in 2006, ODOT plans
to build a new, wider bridge on Ohio 18 near River Styx Road west of I-71.
O'Leary said the cost of the bridge is not yet available. When all the work is
done, traffic should move better on the key corridor between Akron and Medina.
Near I-71, 32,000 vehicles a day now use the road. ODOT is so concerned
about traffic tie-ups during construction that the agency is making an extensive
effort to get the message out ahead of time.

ODOT has met with residents and businesses. It will work with truckers on
alternate routes and post message boards on I-71 and Ohio 18 to give warnings of
the changing traffic patterns as construction progresses. The first work, this
December, will mainly involve the I-71 exit and entrance ramps. Next spring,
ODOT will begin tearing up Ohio 18, which means half the existing road will be
closed at times. Temporary 60-foot driveways will be built for businesses.
O'Leary pledged to keep four lanes open during construction. When done, instead
of a single, dedicated lane for traffic turning onto I-71, there will be two
turn lanes in each direction, as well as two lanes each way for through traffic.

Later, in reconstructing Ohio 18 east to the Summit County line, ODOT will
eliminate the difference in elevation between the eastbound and westbound lanes
in that area. Because of the steep difference in grade, turning across the
median is dangerous. And a fifth lane will be added throughout the entire
five-mile stretch. Currently, there are turn lanes only in a few spots. The
bridge west of I-71, which now has three lanes, will be wide enough to
accommodate five lanes of traffic.

Police Ask For Public's Help In Finding Road Rage Killers
Police Search For Two Men, Woman

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles police asked for the public's help Friday in finding
two men who, in an apparent fit of road rage, shot and killed a 30-year-old
Huntington Park, Calif., man. The shooting occurred the night of Sept. 12 on
Hollywood Boulevard near Laurel Canyon Boulevard, said Officer Adriana Sanchez
of the Los Angeles Police Department. Cesar Garnica, an avid motorcyclist, was
riding his motorcycle with family and friends when he and other members of his
group got into a dispute with the occupants of a BMW, who were apparently "irate
over the slower moving motorcyclists," Sanchez said. Witnesses told police that
the dispute escalated to the point where the windshield of the BMW was smashed
and one of its occupants fatally shot Garnica.

A $25,000 reward is being offered
to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the men,
Sanchez said. The driver of the BMW was described as a man of Armenian descent
between 20 and 25 years old with a shaved head and a tattoo that looked like a
long black bar on his left inner arm, Sanchez said. A passenger, an Armenian man
between 20 and 28, had a stocky build, short hair, a mustache and a goatee,
Sanchez said. There was a third occupant, possibly a female, she said. The
four-door car was burgundy and possibly a 325i model from 1996 to 2001, Sanchez
said. It had a smashed windshield and a front seat airbag may have been
activated, she said. The license plate may have included the numbers 7 and 8.
Anyone with information about the shooting or the men was asked to call the LAPD's Hollywood Station detectives at (213) 485-6410 or (213) 485- 9168.

Fifteen people were indicted by a Washington County grand jury this week,
including a Belpre man involved in a road rage incident and a Coal Run resident
who led local police on a high-speed chase. Mark Hinton, 23, of 109 Elm St.,
Belpre, was indicted on a first-degree misdemeanor count of assault. He is
accused of striking James Scott Walraven, 27, of Coolville, with his car Oct. 5.
Prosecutors say an argument began between the two drivers on the Memorial Bridge
and continued when they pulled into the Rite Aid parking lot on Washington
Boulevard in Belpre.

"They argued while out of their cars, and then Hinton
apparently drove his car back around to where (Walraven) was still standing
there yelling at him," said Washington County Assistant Prosecutor Kevin Rings.
"Witnesses said he was hit by the car and knocked up into the air." Walraven had
minor injuries from the incident. Also indicted Thursday was Jason Ross, 28, of
Coal Run, on a third-degree felony count of fleeing and evading a police
officer. After refusing to pull over after a traffic violation in Beverly, Ross
is accused of leading an officer on a long chase, narrowly missing several other
cars. "They ended up on (Ohio) 339 in Morgan County where both vehicles
crashed," said Washington County Assistant Prosecutor Jim Schneider. "The police
cruiser was totaled." Other indictments were:

Michael J. Siders, 23, of
Southgate Trailer Park No. 2, Marietta, was indicted on two fifth-degree felony
counts of theft, accused of stealing the purse of a Kroger employee Sept. 20.
The purse contained more than $1,000 in cash.

Kraig E. Brand, 45, of 43139
Washington County 58, New Matamoras, was indicted on a fourth-degree felony
count of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol after an Aug. 14
incident. The charge is a felony because Brand has four convictions for driving
under the influence in the past six years.

Shane O. Keller, 29, of 2302
1/2 Richmiller Lane, Belpre, was indicted on three counts of fifth-degree felony
charges of domestic violence. He is accused of assaulting his live-in girlfriend
in June, August and September. Keller was also indicted separately on a
third-degree felony count of retaliation, accusing him of making harassing phone
calls Oct. 3.

Todd Wilson, 41, of 147
Zanesville Ave., Logan, was indicted on a third-degree felony count of fleeing
and eluding a police officer. He is accused of fleeing from an officer on
Washington County 109 near Waterford Oct. 7.

Todd Schweitzer, 41, of 702
Victoria Ave., Williamstown, was indicted on a fifth-degree felony charge of
passing bad checks in the amount of $1,100 to The UPS Store in Marietta Aug. 8.

Kurt Lerch, 32, of 5441 Veto
Road, Vincent, was indicted on a fifth-degree felony count of theft and is
accused of accepting a $2,000 check from a Belpre couple to work on their roof
and failing to begin the work or refund the check.

Mark Stanford, 37, of Wexford,
Pa., was indicted on three fifth-degree felony counts of passing bad checks,
forgery and theft, accused of making a $1,600 payment to a man who had captained
his yacht while he had no money in his bank account.

Angela D. Carpenter, 36, of
153 Harmar St., Marietta, was indicted on a first-degree misdemeanor count of
assault after an Aug. 5 incident in which she is accused of assaulted a man with
pliers.

Mathew Kleintop, 20, of 525
Mitchell Ave., Beverly, was indicted on a first-degree misdemeanor count of
unauthorized use of a vehicle. He is accused of taking a car from Miller's
Towing in Beverly in July after it was impounded.

Clyde R. Tidd, 65, of 940
Bells Run Road, Newport, was indicted on a fourth-degree felony count of gross
sexual imposition and a first-degree felony count of rape. Tidd is accused of
raping someone he knew from work at the victim's apartment.

Greg J. Drennen, 41, of
Spencer, W.Va., was indicted on two fifth-degree felony counts of breaking and
entering and theft, and two fourth-degree felony counts of possessing criminal
tools and safecracking. Prosecutors say Drennen stole a safe from Station
Carryout in Dunham Township June 23 along with Samuel Lee O'Brien, 33, of
Spencer, who was indicted for the crime in August and will begin his trial Nov.
13.

NORWALK -- The Norwalk man on trial for an alleged road rage incident decided to
plead guilty to a felony vandalism charge yesterday at the beginning of the
second day of trial in Huron County Common Pleas Court.
Fred Ball, 56, was indicted on felony charges of breaking and entering, two
counts of felonious assault and a misdemeanor charge of driving while under the
influence. ''I'm not surprised. I think the 911 tape really swayed (Ball),''
said Huron County Assistant Prosecutor Richard Woodruff after the plea. ''Some
defendants need to hear some of the evidence before they cop to a plea,'' said
Woodruff. Reese Wineman, Ball's attorney, said his client made the decision
after they had a lengthy discussion.

''I thought it was the right thing to do,
based on the evidence (Thursday). I thought it was a fair resolution. I think
(Ball) realized it was the best route to take,'' Wineman said. Ball was arrested
after he allegedly rammed his pickup truck into a Bellevue man's car and pushed
it through a garage on Dec. 1, 2002, according to reports. The prosecutor's
office offer to drop the indictment charges for a guilty plea to felony
vandalism was made long before the trial began Thursday morning, but Ball
''wouldn't budge,'' Woodruff said. According to testimony on Thursday, Ball
followed the victim, a 23-year-old Bellevue man, to the victim's parents' home
because the Bellevue man had been supposedly tailgating him. The two men got
into a verbal and physical argument and Ball rammed his pickup into the Bellevue
man's Jetta, pushing it into a garage, knocking the garage off its foundation
and damaging a restored 1929 truck inside the garage, according to testimony.
The victim's mother called 911 while the incident was happening, according to
testimony. ''He'll be ordered to pay full restitution, of course,'' said
Woodruff, adding that the amount is about $10,000 but could raise as the victims
continue repairing or replacing the garage and two cars that were damaged during
the incident.

Additionally, Judge Earl McGimpsey told Ball that he could receive
a $5,000 fine from the court when he is sentenced in January. McGimpsey also
told Ball that he could be automatically sentenced to six to 18 months in prison
since a threat of causing harm to another with a deadly weapon, in this case the
pickup truck, was present. Ball will most likely receive six months in the local
jail, said Woodruff. ''How do you plea to the charge of vandalism?'' asked
McGimpsey of Ball, who stood at a podium in the middle of the courtroom in blue
jeans and green polo-style shirt. ''Guilty,'' Ball said quietly. The victims
approved of the plea arrangement, Woodruff said. Given that Ball's driving
record includes only a reckless operation citation about 14 years ago and a few
seat belt violations, the incident ''seemed really atypical considering (Ball's)
past,'' said Woodruff. Ball will remain free in lieu of bond until his
sentencing on Jan. 6 when the judge will review a victim impact statement and
presentence investigation, said McGimpsey, who warned Ball to ''cooperate'' with
the probation officers who will conduct the investigation.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- A man with just a couple years of driving experience
under his belt could face assault charges after an apparent case of road rage.
It started at 124th Street and Nall Avenue when police said a man cut off the
18-year-old driver. Police said that was when the teen pulled out a BB gun and
started shooting. The two drivers chased each other for nearly 30 blocks before
Leawood, Kan., police caught up with the teen. Nobody was hurt.

Man Ordered To Stand Trial In Road Rage
Case

NBC 11.com, CA

Accident Left
Motorcyclist Paralyzed

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The man accused
of slamming his truck into a motorcyclist after a road rage argument in San
Jose has been ordered to stand trial. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge
ruled Monday that there's enough evidence to try Rodney Torres on charges of
attempted murder and hit and run. Prosecutors allege Torres chased Thomas
Castrillon into a parking lot and slammed into his Harley-Davidson after the
two had words on the highway. Castrillon was left a quadriplegic after the
incident. Torres faces up to 16 years in prison if he's convicted. He's due
back in court on Nov. 17.

A 67-year-old grandfather had his head battered off the ground in a vicious road
rage attack - by the driver of a £40,000 Mercedes. The assault happened in the
middle of the morning, as stunned shoppers looked on.
Peter Smith was driving his sister-in-law to work when a black Mercedes M Class
4x4 loomed up behind him. As it passed, the driver gestured angrily and swore at
the pensioner. At the next set of traffic lights, in Coatbridge Main Street, the
smartly dressed Mercedes driver jumped from his vehicle and made for Mr Smith.
As the father of six went to leave his car, the man grabbed his jacket, knocked
him to the ground and banged his head off the road. Mr Smith shouted for help
and passers-by ran to his aid. The attacker jumped back into his car and sped
off. The grandfather was treated in Monklands General Hospital for head wounds
and had x-rays before being allowed home. Mr Smith today said his attacker's
face was 'full of rage'.

He added: "I couldn't believe what was happening to me. I saw this well-dressed
young man coming towards me like a raging bull. "I started to get out of my car
as my sister-in-law was very scared. "This maniac came charging up to me,
grabbed me by my jacket lapels, and threw me to the ground. I tried to get up
but he started hitting me, bursting my nose and banging my head." The victim
said he thought his attacker was going to kill him, and added: "I don't know
what would have happened if people hadn't intervened." Mr Smith's wife,
Catherine, 64, described her husband's ordeal as her worst moment in 40 years of
marriage. She added: "I got a real fright when I saw his bruised and scratched
face, but he's being very brave. "Some people have no respect for older people,
but someone who could do something like this would attack anyone."

Police
described yesterday's attack, which happened around 10am less than a mile from
the victim's home, as a vicious and unprovoked assault on a very frightened
elderly man. Inquiries are continuing. A 67-year-old grandfather had his head
battered off the ground in a vicious road rage attack - by the driver of a
£40,000 Mercedes. The assault happened in the middle of the morning, as stunned
shoppers looked on. Peter Smith was driving his sister-in-law to work when a
black Mercedes M Class 4x4 loomed up behind him. As it passed, the driver
gestured angrily and swore at the pensioner. At the next set of traffic lights,
in Coatbridge Main Street, the smartly dressed Mercedes driver jumped from his
vehicle and made for Mr Smith. As the father of six went to leave his car, the
man grabbed his jacket, knocked him to the ground and banged his head off the
road. Mr Smith shouted for help and passers-by ran to his aid.

The attacker
jumped back into his car and sped off. The grandfather was treated in Monklands
General Hospital for head wounds and had x-rays before being allowed home. Mr
Smith today said his attacker's face was 'full of rage'. He added: "I couldn't
believe what was happening to me. I saw this well-dressed young man coming
towards me like a raging bull.

"I started to get out of my car as my sister-in-law was very scared. "This
maniac came charging up to me, grabbed me by my jacket lapels, and threw me to
the ground. I tried to get up but he started hitting me, bursting my nose and
banging my head." The victim said he thought his attacker was going to kill him,
and added: "I don't know what would have happened if people hadn't intervened."
Mr Smith's wife, Catherine, 64, described her husband's ordeal as her worst
moment in 40 years of marriage. She added: "I got a real fright when I saw his
bruised and scratched face, but he's being very brave. "Some people have no
respect for older people, but someone who could do something like this would
attack anyone." Police described yesterday's attack, which happened around 10am
less than a mile from the victim's home, as a vicious and unprovoked assault on
a very frightened elderly man. Inquiries are continuing.

A 67-year-old
grandfather had his head battered off the ground in a vicious road rage attack -
by the driver of a £40,000 Mercedes. The assault happened in the middle of the
morning, as stunned shoppers looked on. Peter Smith was driving his
sister-in-law to work when a black Mercedes M Class 4x4 loomed up behind him. As
it passed, the driver gestured angrily and swore at the pensioner. At the next
set of traffic lights, in Coatbridge Main Street, the smartly dressed Mercedes
driver jumped from his vehicle and made for Mr Smith. As the father of six went
to leave his car, the man grabbed his jacket, knocked him to the ground and
banged his head off the road.

Mr Smith shouted for help and passers-by ran to his aid. The attacker jumped
back into his car and sped off.
The grandfather was treated in Monklands General Hospital for head wounds and
had x-rays before being allowed home. Mr Smith today said his attacker's face
was 'full of rage'.
He added: "I couldn't believe what was happening to me. I saw this well-dressed
young man coming towards me like a raging bull. "I started to get out of my car
as my sister-in-law was very scared. "This maniac came charging up to me,
grabbed me by my jacket lapels, and threw me to the ground. I tried to get up
but he started hitting me, bursting my nose and banging my head." The victim
said he thought his attacker was going to kill him, and added: "I don't know
what would have happened if people hadn't intervened." Mr Smith's wife,
Catherine, 64, described her husband's ordeal as her worst moment in 40 years of
marriage. She added: "I got a real fright when I saw his bruised and scratched
face, but he's being very brave. "Some people have no respect for older people,
but someone who could do something like this would attack anyone." Police
described yesterday's attack, which happened around 10am less than a mile from
the victim's home, as a vicious and unprovoked assault on a very frightened
elderly man. Inquiries are continuing.

SAN JOSE (BCN) -- Former Harley Davidson devotee now confined to a wheelchair
testified Monday at the preliminary examination of the man accused of crippling
him in a road rage incident in June. Tom Castrillon wore a neck brace in
addition to being confined to the wheelchair as he testified about the accident
that occurred on June 2 in the parking lot of a San Jose coffee shop.

Rodney Torres, 34, faces a maximum possible penalty of 14 years in prison if
convicted of felony attempted murder and hit-and-run driving charges in
connection with the alleged collision between his pickup truck and Castrillon's
motorcycle in the Flames Coffee Shop parking lot at Hillsdale Boulevard and
Camden Avenue in San Jose. Torres allegedly ran down Castrillon after the two
men exchange words over a traffic incident.

Castrillon testified that he did not remember the events of the collision.
Outside the courthouse, he said that since the accident left him paralyzed he
misses the routine of his former life. "Just getting out and going to work every
day," Castrillon said. An eyewitness to the accident testified that the driver
of the pickup truck made a deliberate turn to collide with the motorcycle.

"He definitely turned in, not just a quick turn, but a solid turn like he knew
what he was doing," Tom Jussen said. The preliminary hearing is scheduled to
continue Monday afternoon. Following the completion of testimony, Superior Court
Judge Gilbert brown will decide whether enough evidence exists to send Torres to
trial. Torres has been in custody in Santa Clara County Jail since his arrest at
the end of June.

A 25-year-old man called police to say that he was the victim of road rage. The
man said he was driving on I-85 in the Lawrenceville area when a man in a green
Honda intentionally crashed into him. The victim said he pulled his car over to
the side of the interstate, and the suspect intentionally crashed into the
victim's car again. The suspect yelled obscenities and complained about the
Atlanta Falcons losing a string of football games before fleeing the scene, the
victim told police.

F1 Star In Road Rage Incident
06/11/03
In what is possibly the greatest piece of irony in recent years, Jaguar driver
Mark Webber has been involved in a road rage incident in Melbourne. The Herald
Sun reports that the Australian was involved in an argument with a driver whilst
he was exiting a taxi in Melbourne.

"I'm trying to pay for a taxi and the guy's 'beeeep, beeeep, beeeeping'," said
Webber. "I said, 'Look, mate, just give me 10 seconds'. He mouthed off and drove
up the road like his life depended on it. I cost him probably 10 seconds of his
day and he had to carry on like that."There's some very, very aggressive drivers
out there," he added, though not referring to Fernando Alonso.

Webber went on to launch an astonishing attack on Australian drivers and traffic
laws: "In Europe, if someone flashes their lights it's because they're trying to
let you in and be co-operative. Here, if someone flashes their lights it's
because they're trying to get stuck into you.

"There is a lot of frustration (in Australia). You can't do 63km/h, otherwise
you get fined. It's the only country in the world like that." Clearly Mark
hasn't travelled on London's orbital M25 very much.

No arrest has yet been made in the “road rage” incident on Round Lake Boulevard,
Coon Rapids, the evening of Oct. 29.

About 7:15 p.m. two brothers from Bethel, ages 31 and 26, were traveling south
on Round Lake Boulevard when they accidentally cut in front of another vehicle,
a Jeep Cherokee, according to Coon Rapids Police reports.

Both vehicles pulled into the parking lot of the UPS store at 130th and
Riverdale Drive.

There, the driver of the Jeep Cherokee got out of his vehicle and allegedly
attacked the 31-year-old passenger as he was exiting the vehicle.

The victim was struck several times in the head with the backside of a hatchet,
according to the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office.

Coon Rapids Police reports state that the victim suffered large cuts to his
head. He was taken to Mercy Hospital from where he was released after treatment.

The suspect was described as a white male, 6 feet tall, with an average build
and short brown or black hair. He was described as clean cut and wearing a black
jacket.

After the assault, the suspect drove south on Round Lake Boulevard, the
sheriff’s department states.

The sheriff’s office is seeking the public’s help in locating the suspect, said
Capt. Rob Bredsten, Anoka County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation
Division (CID).

“We have no suspect at this time and no arrest is imminent,” Bredsten said.

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or can provide information as to the
identity of the suspect or the vehicle is urged to call the sheriff’s office at
(763) 427-1212.

A Hamblen County grand jury Monday significantly raised the legal stakes for a
Tazewell man charged with gunning down an Alabama truck driver during an alleged
"road rage" incident earlier this year.
The panel returned with a second-degree murder indictment against 47-year-old
Patrick Allen Marsh.

In February, Marsh allegedly pressed a .38-caliber handgun to the face of
59-year-old Billy Ray Snipes and fired a single shot. The bullet struck the
Odenville, Ala. truck driver below the left eye.

In September, a grand jury indicted Marsh for voluntary manslaughter.

District Attorney General C. Berkeley Bell Jr. said this morning prosecutors
believe the possible prison time Marsh faced didn't fit the crime.

"We felt like he had been undercharged based on the investigation we had been
conducting," the district attorney said.

Those convicted of second-degree murder serve far longer sentences than those
convicted of voluntary manslaughter, which essentially, is third-degree murder.

Defendants convicted of second-degree murder face a range of punishment varying
from 15 to 25 years, and are ineligible for parole. In other words, if convicted
of this offense, Marsh would have to serve at least 15 years in prison.

Individuals convicted of voluntary manslaughter face up to
6 years behind bars. What's more, these convicts typically are eligible for
parole after serving just 30 percent of the sentence.

The shooting occurred Feb. 2 on Interstate 81 in Hamblen County. Law enforcement
officials haven't said what particular event led to the homicide, but witnesses
reported Marsh and Snipes fought briefly prior to the shooting.

Emergency-services personnel transported Snipes to Morristown-Hamblen Healthcare
System, but he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Snipes was a driver for Crete Trucking Company. Tennessee Bureau of
Investigation Special Agent Chad Smith leads the criminal inquiry. Smith was the
only individual to testify about the killing before the grand jury Monday,
according to the indictment.

The grand jury also indicted a number of other individuals Monday. Those
defendants will be listed in the Wednesday edition of the Citizen Tribune.

Dave ‘Impi-D’ Watts, the DJ/vocalist and core member of agit-prop hip hop crew
Fun-Da-Mental, was seriously injured in a road rage incident this week, when a
maniac driver deliberately reversed into him, breaking his leg in two places.

Dave was run down on Harlesden High Street, West London after the motorist first
cut him and his girlfriend up on their bikes, leading to a row, which prompted
the driver to bump Dave with his car.

“That was minor, but when I cycled around to the driver’s side and said again
‘what the fuck are you doing?’ he didn’t reply at all, moved his car forwards
and reversed again, knocking my girlfriend Beatrice off her bike,” Dave told
Skrufff.

“I didn’t like that at all, and got off my bike, then he moved forward and
reversed again quickly, knocking me down and driving over my leg,” he continued.

“I managed to crawl over to the pavement, looked down at my foot and saw it was
flopping loose at a stupid angle beneath the knee, reminiscent of that scene in
Apocalypse Now.”

Despite the attack happening on a busy shopping street in broad daylight, Dave
said many witnesses refused to cooperate with the police.

“A lot of people saw it but lots didn’t want to talk to the police, even people
that I know, shopkeepers who I’ve talked to for years from going into their
shops, wouldn’t say anything,” he said.

“I’m really fucking disillusioned with some people. They give you all that
brotherly love shit then when something like this happens you see they’re just
out for themselves, especially with this issue of the police. At the end of the
day, you need the police in society. If somebody fucks you up, who you gonna’
call? When someone burgles your house are you gonna’ call a rapper or the
police?”

Harlesden is renowned as being one of London’s roughest areas, with gun crime in
particular, a significant problem, though Dave stressed his attacker ‘wasn’t a
gangsta type, just an ignorant, fucking asshole’. He added that local police are
apparently optimistic they’ll catch him.

“I really hope they nail him to the wall when they do,” said Dave.

“Apparently he drove off laughing.”

Dave’s girlfriend escaped with cuts and bruises, though the Fun-Da-Mental
frontman broke both his tibia and fibia leg bones and has had a steel pin
inserted in his lower leg. He’s now convalescing at home and expects to be out
of action for several months. Anyone wishing to send him a get-well message can
do so at dnation@btinternet.com.

A Miami Township woman accused of attacking her husband and children in a case
of alleged road rage was on the loose after she was arrested and then mistakenly
let go.
Lori Horrocks, 29, faces multiple charges in the incident which occurred around
8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the corner of East State Road and Skidmore, in the
Village of Cleves.

Police said Horrocks rammed her new Dodge Durango into another car driven by her
husband Dale and carrying her two children and another woman who was also in the
car.

Cleves Police Chief Mark Demeropolis said Lori then chased her husband to the
Cleves Police Station.

Horracks was arrested, and according to police, placed on police holder, meaning
no officer was assigned to watch her, but the hospital was supposed to notify
authorities when she was released. That never happened, and Horracks was
discharged on her own around midnight.

A spokesperson at University Hospital said it's not the hospital's policy to
"baby-sit" and they know of no such policy.

LEWISTON -- Bradley Koenigsker of Monmouth was arrested Wednesday on Lisbon
Street shortly after police said he pointed a loaded handgun at another driver
in traffic just before 4 p.m., Lewiston police Lt. Tom Avery said.

Koenigsker, 39, was released on bail about 6 p.m. that night, Avery said. Avery
could not recall the bail amount.

Avery said his department received a cell phone call from the driver of the
other car who identified the truck and gave police its license plate number.

"We received a report of a maroon Dodge pickup headed inbound on Lisbon Street.
The male driver reportedly pointed a handgun at the driver," Avery said.

Lewiston police officers stopped the truck on Lisbon Street within minutes after
the report and arrested Koenigsker. "A black handgun fell out of his jacket as
officers were attempting to take him into custody," Avery explained. They also
found a hickory club and a hatchet in Koenigsker's truck, he said.

Avery said there is no indication Koenigsker and the people in the other car
knew one another or had contact before the incident in traffic.

A 26-year-old Merced man picked a wrong time to vent his road rage and ended up
in jail on narcotic allegations along with tailgating.

Gabriel Rodriguez Jr. was booked into jail Friday on suspicion of possession of
a controlled substance, being under the influence of a controlled substance,
driving under the influence of a controlled substance, and following another
vehicle too closely.

He also was booked on an outstanding narcotics felony warrant.

Merced Police Cmdr. Tom Martin, supervisor of the South Side station, said the
arrest was made at 10 a.m. when officer Jobe Sandhagen, patrolling on V Street
near the northbound onramp of Highway 99, saw a car tailgating another car on V
Street.

Making a U-turn to stop the vehicle, the officer reported that both of the
vehicles pulled over to the side of the road.

The driver of the front vehicle told the officer that he had accidentally cut
off the car behind him, causing the driver to get angry and begin tailgating
him.

Talking to Rodriguez, the driver of the rear vehicle, Sandhagen learned he
(Rodriguez) had an outstanding warrant. He also reported smelling a strong odor
of marijuana coming from inside the car.

While conducting the investigation, a motorist called the police department on a
cell phone, saying that while the officer was making a U-turn he saw Rodriguez
toss something out of the window.

The motorist retrieved the bag and turned it over to a police officer who
responded to the call. The bag reportedly contained a quantity of
methamphetamine, Martin said.

Rodriguez reportedly admitted smoking a marijuana cigarette but not tossing a
bag out the window.

He was arrested and booked on the narcotic allegations, said Martin.

“Again,” Martin said, “people in the community are coming forward and reporting
crimes when they see them occur.

He said research clearly pointed to speed and alcohol as being the cause of much
of the road trauma he and other surgeons had to face on an almost daily basis.

Too often those patients taken to the hospital did not survive, despite making
it onto the operating table.

Dr Jones said he was sick of seeing patients die on the operating table, despite
everything the medical profession could offer, because of irresponsible
behaviour on the roads.

"I'm getting sick and tired of telling people that their relatives are possibly
going to die, that's why they're being flown to Sydney."

He revealed so many patients were being transferred out of the Shoalhaven
because they had sustained serious injuries that Shoalhaven Hospital was
becoming known as "the departure lounge".

The group of general surgeons is calling for improved education for drivers of
all ages, particularly in relation to speed and alcohol.

The local surgeons have enlisted the aid of South Coast MP Shelley Hancock, and
Gilmore MP Joanna Gash, in their fight for a new education campaign, and Dr
Jones said he was also hoping to speak to Transport Minister Michael Costa in
coming days.

The surgeons were stung into action by a horror stretch on local roads in which
eight people died in just over two weeks, including four on the highway.

And as Dr Jones pointed out, "We've not even started the worst season for road
trauma, which is December and January."

Highway accidents during the past week have claimed the lives of Carla Robinson
of Ulladulla on Wednesday afternoon and 17-year-old Grant Bayldon of North Nowra
on Sunday.

While the surgeons focussed their attention on driver behaviour, there are
increasing calls for urgent upgrades of the Princes Highway to help reduce the
local road toll.

Australia's peak motoring organisation, the NRMA, said millions of dollars were
urgently needed to help bring the Princes Highway up to an acceptable standard.

The NRMA has revealed a huge and continuing shortfall in road maintenance
funding from both the State and Federal Governments, claiming the continued cuts
to road expenditure had left a bill of $286.25 million needed to repair roads
within the Southern region in need of urgent upgrade.

PAWTUCKET, R.I. -- Two men and a woman are the targets of a search in Pawtucket.
Police are looking for the three people who were allegedly involved in a road
rage incident.

Paul Daniels, 31, said two men hit him with a baseball bat and a claw hammer.
Daniels said the men were passengers in a car driven by a woman. Daniels said he
argued with the woman after she allegedly cut him off at the intersection of
Central Avenue and Cottage Street.

A Foxboro man was arrested Monday morning, Nov. 10, for threatening a motorist
on Route 9 with a knife in an apparent road rage incident, police said.

Gustavo DiMartino, 68, of 10 Cranberry Road, was charged with assault and
battery with a dangerous weapon. He was released without bail following his
arraignment in Newton District Court Tuesday and ordered not to contact his
alleged victim.

Police said the 34-year-old victim was driving on Route 128 North at 6:39 a.m.
when he cut off a green Mercury Sable driven by DiMartino. The victim then
allowed DiMartino to pass him as both vehicles exited the highway onto Route 9
east.

"The victim said that the car the suspect was driving dropped its speed down to
30 mph," said Officer George Claflin. "At the intersection of Elliot Street and
Route 9, he saw [DiMartino] waving a knife in a slicing motion and yelling at
him."

The victim called police from his cell phone and reported that a man, "obviously
angry and yelling," threatened to slice him with a knife. After a brief search
for the vehicle, officers stopped DiMartino's car on Boylston Street.

"Officers found a small, green knife in the center console of the vehicle," said
Claflin. "The victim, who was visibly shaken by the events of the morning,
arrived at the scene a short time later. He positively identified the suspect."

DiMartino, who pleaded innocent to the charges against him, is due back in court
on Dec. 9 for a pretrial conference.

GAINESVILLE - A couple from Gainesville escaped injury Tuesday night after
someone fired gunshots into their pick-up on Highway 365 in Hall County,
according to the Hall County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff's Captain Ed Barfield said it happened as the victims were trying to
turn left on White Sulphur Road around 9:00 p.m.

"Kenneth Anderson and his wife were not injured. The pick-up truck was hit
several times. A lookout was given for the older model Oldsmobile. We don't know
how many passengers or anything about it, other than it was an older model dark

The suspect vehicle was also headed north on 365. Anderson said the driver was
flashing its bright lights before it pulled along side him and shots were fired
into his truck from the car.

"It sounded like a machine gun or something. Our windows started breaking, and
it was pretty terrifying," Anderson said. "You think about several, several
things at that moment. It all went through my mind so I swerved off and ended up
in the grass."

Anderson said a bullet just missed his wife by a couple of inches.

"We've been married 36 years, and I've never seen her like that. She totally
broke down and was out of control . She told me it was the most scariest thing
that's ever happened to her in her life."

He said the windows in the car were dark, not allowing a view of the occupants.

The incident left authorities and victims without clear answers.

"The only thing that the driver of the pick-up truck said was maybe he was
driving too slow. He doesn't know what he was doing wrong. He was making a left
turn, so he had to be in the left hand lane," Barfield said.

Authorities have no suspects. They believe it could be a case of road rage that
could have been much worse.

"It turned out that no one was hurt, but this could have been a very serious
case," Barfield said.

"I want them caught. I'm an ex Marine so my first thought was just let me have
them and I'll take care of them, but that's not the right thing to do," Anderson
said.

He came away from the incident with some advice.

"If you have a car that's harassing you, the best thing that you can do is get a
license number and then get away from them. In this case I didn't know that they
were harassing me or I was harassing them, but if you see something like that
that's going on, get away from the situation, don't let your pride get involved
because you're going to get dead."

PITTSBURG (BCN) -- It was about 3:30 p.m. at a major intersection near congested
state Highway 4 in Pittsburg. He was in a left turn lane on Railroad Avenue,
approaching a red light, when a white Honda Prelude pulled in front of him.

Pittsburg police say that was enough to prompt him to shoot, and Wednesday night
they are hoping these details will lead witnesses to offer leads on a suspect in
the apparent road rage incident that left two people wounded.

Sgt. Brian Addington said that after both cars turned left onto East Leland
Road, the Prelude's driver noticed that "the vehicle he had cut off was right
next to him with the driver rolling down the window and staring at him."

"So he rolls down his passenger window and the gentleman in the green car says
something to the effect of, 'You think it's OK to cut me off, huh?"'

Addington continued, "The driver kind of nonchalantly says something to the
effect of, 'I guess,' and pulls forward slightly to avoid further confrontation.
But it's stop-and-go traffic. At this point he hears two gunshots."

The Prelude's driver was shot in the left forearm, his passenger shot in the
back.

As they pulled into oncoming traffic to get away, the suspect maneuvered right,
through heavy traffic into a bike lane, and vanished somewhere near the
intersection of East Leland Road and Harbor Street.

Police are surprised they did not receive more calls about shots being fired on
East Leland Road during commute hours.

They are asking for anyone who saw the white 1996 Honda Prelude, or the
newer-model, green, compact car driven by the suspect, to call the anonymous tip
line at (925) 427-7369.

The wounded driver, a 25-year-old Pittsburg man, was treated and released from a
local hospital. His passenger, a 21-year-old Antioch man, is in stable condition
at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.

"They did not know the suspect," Addington said. "There's no indication this had
to do with anything other than the suspect being cut off."

The suspect is described as a clean-cut black man with short black hair, in his
early to mid-20s, with an average build. Addington said a heavy-set black woman
with braided hair was in the passenger seat.

Addington said police are anxious to hear the suspect's side of the story, but
if officers' current understanding is correct, the man could face attempted
murder charges.

Police in Pittsburg were searching for a gunman who shot two people after a
traffic dispute.

Investigators say the man pulled alongside the victims' car near East Leland and
Railroad Ave. Wednesday afternoon, accused the driver of cutting him off, and
then fired several times. The driver was shot in the arm, and a passenger was
shot in the back, but neither of the injuries was life-threatening.

The suspect was in a newer-model green compact car. Anyone with any information
is asked to call the anonymous tip line at (925) 427-7369.

Road rage is not a good reason to die
—Michael Clements, Sun managing editor
Texas City Sun

Published November 13, 2003

Juan Gallegos was a married construction worker on his way to work last August
when he ran into two men in their car.

Well, it’s more accurate to say the men ran into him, but at least one of the
men blamed Gallegos for the fender-bender.

The young father of two, Gallegos, pulled his pickup over into a parking lot.
Maybe he thought he would exchange insurance with the men. Maybe he thought they
would have words then go on their way. Maybe he thought the incident was a
figurative bump in his daily commute.

Odds are he never thought he would be dead in less than an hour.

It seems the driver of the car that hit Gallegos’ pickup was under the influence
of something that clouded his judgment. It wasn’t drugs or alcohol. It was
something much more dangerous. The driver of that car was angry.

He was under the influence of what has come to be called “road rage.”

As the car’s driver threatened and verbally assaulted Gallegos, the young
construction worker had the presence of mind to dial 911 on his cell phone. For
some reason he was unable to speak, but the 911 system recorded the last few
minutes of Gallegos life.

On the 911 tape a man can be heard threatening Gallegos and accusing him of
“brake checking.” That is a term generally used when a driver who is being
tailgated taps his brakes lightly to get the following vehicle to back off.

Gallegos died because he had the nerve to be annoyed at someone’s aggressive
driving. Is there a more useless reason to die?

News reports are heard everyday of people shooting at one another, attacking one
another and doing other stupid things because of road rage. This must stop.

A man has been arrested for Gallegos’ murder. If he is in fact the man that
plunged a knife into Juan Gallegos, he should pay the maximum price called for
by law.

Reno police are looking for people who fired a gun at a vehicle Friday during a
traffic encounter at the south end of town.

Police said occupants of two vehicles stopped at 6:55 p.m. on Neil Road near
Evelyn Way and began exchanging angry words with one another. One vehicle
reportedly turned left onto Evelyn Way and the other drove south on Neil Road,
but the vehicles met again at Evelyn Way and Neil Road and a passenger in one
vehicle fired multiple shots at the other and also hit an uninvolved, third
vehicle.

Both cars left the area. No injuries were reported, police said.

Witnesses describe the car from which shots were fired as an older two-door gray
Buick with a white vinyl top. The other car was described as a 1978 or 1979
primer gray Chevrolet Impala.

Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call Secret
Witness, which translates many languages, at 322-4900, or the Reno Police
Department at 334-2115.

A Billings man accused of a road rage shooting in January pleaded guilty Friday
in District Court.

Timothy Troy Taylor, 18, admitted to Judge Gregory Todd that he shot another man
on Jan. 24 after an altercation between the occupants of two vehicles. Taylor
pleaded guilty to felony assault with a weapon, and Todd scheduled sentencing
for Jan. 14. Taylor remains in the county jail on $100,000 bond.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors said they would dismiss a charge of
attempted robbery against Taylor. Taylor was charged with trying to rob a man in
the parking lot of the Heights Wal-Mart four days after the shooting.

In the shooting incident, prosecutors said Taylor was a passenger in a car whose
occupants exchanged insults with the occupants of another car on 24th Street
West near Central Avenue. One car followed the other to an apartment complex,
and Taylor fired a .22-caliber handgun at two men as they stepped out of the
car. Colin Peters, 22, was hit by a bullet in the right forearm.

November 17, 2003 — A man was shot to death during an altercation at a Gary,
Ind., intersection. The driver's 12-year-old son witnessed the violence. Police
are searching for suspects in the case.

Officials say the victim asked another driver whose car was blocking the
intersection at 35th and Lincoln to move his car. That's when the gunman opened
fire.

"I would never live in Gary. He knew how strongly I felt about that. And our
goal was to get away from Gary," said Tiffany Beard, victim's wife.

Beard says her husband grew up in Gary with the goal of someday leaving the city
because of all the violence. On Sunday night, the violence caught up with
33-year-old Stanley Beard, who had moved his family out of town to nearby
Griffith, Indiana.

Police say Beard was picking up his son near 35th and Lincoln. The intersection
was blocked by two cars so Beard got out and asked the man to move the cars.
Police say that turned into an altercation. The other man grabbed a gun and shot
Beard six to seven times. All the while, his 12-year-old son was watching from
his car.

"He was picking up his young son that was in the car and witnessed it and got
out of the car and ran back to the home where he left from and the police were
called and responded to the scene," said Gary Police Chief Garnett Watson.

"I know him. He got out of the car and asked him nicely. I know he didn't use
any profanity. He just asked him, 'can you move your car?' And they probably
just started going off," said Tiffany.

Police say so far the boy is their only witness. They are not concerned,
however, that he could be a target of retaliation. Stanley Beard leaves behind
four children and 22 siblings in all. His family is making funeral arrangements
and praying police catch the gunman.

"I hope they do catch who did it because he didn't deserve it," said Tiffany.

Gary police say it is too early to tell whether this is a completely random
crime or whether Beard might have known his killer.

FORT WORTH _ A 21-year-old man accused of fatally stabbing a Garland man in a
road-rage attack that was recorded during a 911 call has been indicted by a
Tarrant County grand jury.

Jeromy Jolley is now awaiting trial on a murder charge in the Aug. 1 attack on
Juan Gallegos, 32, a construction worker and the father of two children. The
grand jury also indicted Jolley on an arson charge Tuesday, stemming from the
accusation that he burned the victim's truck three days later to cover up the
crime.

Jolley remains in the Tarrant County Jail with bail set at $100,000.

Gallegos' body was found in the parking lot of a cafeteria at Northeast Loop 820
and North Beach Street. Three days later, the victim's Chevrolet pickup, with
damage to the rear section, was found burning in a ravine near the 6000 block of
Rusk Street in Haltom City.

Authorities have said that Gallegos called 911 after the wreck but was unable to
speak to a Haltom City dispatcher who fielded the call. The call, however,
recorded the attack and the voice of a man accusing Gallegos of
"brake-checking." Witnesses have identified Jolley as the person heard on the
911 tape, authorities have said.

Last week, three others were arrested after their indictments in the slaying _
two on perjury warrants and a third on suspicion that he helped set the victim's
pickup on fire.

Cody Wayne Clanton, 22, of Fort Worth, was indicted on an arson charge and has
been released from jail after posting $20,000 bond.

Derrick Bowman, 19, of Haltom City, was indicted on an aggravated perjury
charge, accusing him of lying to a grand jury on Nov. 5. He is in the Tarrant
County Jail with a bail set at $20,000. On Tuesday, the grand jury also returned
two additional cases of aggravated perjury against Clanton and Bowman, accusing
them of lying before a grand jury.

Last week, Joshua Aaron Millican, 25, was also indicted on an aggravated perjury
charge, accusing him of giving false grand jury testimony on Sept. 25. He was
arrested in Martin, S.D., and has waived extradition. He will be returned to
Texas within 10 days, officials said. Another man, Brian C. Taylor, 22, of
Haltom City, was arrested Sept. 16 on a tampering-with-evidence warrant on
accusations that he tried to conceal evidence in the slaying. He remains free on
bail.

Officials said a grand jury is currently hearing evidence in that case.

Play the video (11/19/03) UNIONDALE - A Massapequa teen is in critical condition
with severe head injuries Wednesday morning after losing control of his car in
an apparent road rage incident.
Police say 18-year-old Thomas Damiani of Massapequa may have angered 22-year-old
Amano Kazu of Rockville Centre by honking his horn.

Witnesses say Kazu responded with aggressive lane changes that caused Damiani's
car to veer off the road and flip over ejecting him from the vehicle.

Kazu has been charged with reckless assault. Police say he could be faced with
more charges once their investigation is complete.

A man who was shot in the parking lot of a Berkeley car dealership in an
apparent road-rage incident has died, authorities said Wednesday.

George Barillas, 43, of Berkeley was shot in the chest at about 11:30 p.m.

Oct. 24 in the lot on Ashby Avenue near Seventh Street, moments after he had an
altercation on nearby Interstate 80 with a motorist, said Officer Kevin
Schofield, Berkeley police spokesman.

Barillas tried to drive away but crashed his car. The gunman fled west in a
black SUV and escaped. Barillas died at 10 a.m. Monday at Highland Hospital in
Oakland. His wife declined comment Wednesday. Police had few leads in the
slaying, Berkeley's fifth homicide this year.

CANTON, Mass. -- A Rhode Island man was charged after an alleged case of road
rage Wednesday afternoon in Canton.

Massachusetts State Police received a cell phone call from a motorist who said
the driver of a BMW pointed a handgun at him at the intersection of Routes 95
and 128.

Eric Jeung, 23, of East Providence, R.I., was spotted by police a short time
later in Randolph, Mass. He was arrested on charges including assault with a
dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm, speeding and operating to endanger.

Detectives believe a motorist innocently caught up in a road rage incident could
hold vital clues to help track down a hit-and-run driver who killed a teenager.
He was seen in a head to head row with the driver of a dark coloured Ford Escort
at the junction of Galloway Road and Little Eden in Peterlee at 1930 GMT on
Wednesday.

An hour later, a similar car sped over a grass mound on a playing field hitting
and killing Ian Gourley, 15, as he chatted with friends.

The car did not stop and a Ford Escort was later found burned out nearby.

Police are urging the man seen in Galloway Road to come forward with information
about the other driver.

Ian, from Lakemore in Peterlee, was taken to hospital in Hartlepool after the
incident, but was declared dead on arrival after suffering massive head
injuries.

Men are more likely to get agitated behind the wheel and more at risk for
elevated blood pressure when they drive under time restrictions. That's the
conclusion of a University of Utah study on the physiology and psychology of
road rage.

We may be nice guys most of the time, but behind the wheel our whole composure
changes when stress piles on. The University of Utah Department of Psychology
had study participants drive a simulator. Without warning, cars cut them off,
brake, or hog the passing lane.

Volunteers could make a little extra money if they traveled from point A to
point B under a tight schedule.

Dr. David Strayer, U of U Dept of Psychology: "You can get people to start
swearing at inanimate objects or reacting to inanimate objects - giving obscene
gestures and so forth to what are just computerized renderings of vehicles."

Men were more likely to lose their cool than women. But even more, men
experienced elevated blood pressure.

Dr.Tim Smith, U of U Dept. of Psychology: "If you spend a half hour a day in the
car, your blood pressure being ten or fifteen points higher than normal - that's
not a trivial increase."

In some men the blood pressure stayed up.

Dr.Tim Smith, U of U Dept. of Psychology: "If you're ruminating, sort of
rehearsing all of these injustices that you suffered behind the wheel, that will
keep your blood pressure up."

Kris Marvel has a theory why men are more at risk.

Kris Marvel: "It's probably more socially acceptable for men to be aggressive
that it is for women."

But no matter the reason, the ultimate goal from studies like this is
prevention.

Dr.Tim Smith, U of U Dept. of Psychology: "Take a deep breath, count to ten,
that kind of thing. Quiet that little building storm that you would feel
otherwise."

The study showed if you remove the time restrictions behind the wheel, overall
driving actually relaxes and blood pressure goes down even when incidents occur.

George Ronald Barillas, 43, of Berkeley died Tuesday from gunshot wounds
sustained last month in what police believe was a road rage incident. Police
said the dispute between Barillas and another driver apparently began on I-80
and continued after they left the freeway at Ashby Avenue.

The pair pulled into a parking lot west of Seventh Street, where the other
driver shot and fatally wounded Barillas at approximately 11:25 p.m. on Oct. 24.
Investigators say they believe the shooter was driving a late model, full-size
dark American-made SUV or pick-up truck, last seen driving west on Ashby towards
Interstate 80. He is described as a black male, age 17-20, and possibly muscular
or heavyset. Barillas is Berkeley?s fifth murder victim this year. Police
encourage anyone with information about the case to call the BPD Homicide Detail
at 981-5741.

Police say road rage spurs a deadly street brawl in New Brunswick.
A city man was shot to death yesterday after another driver nearly struck his
car as he was trying to park. Vincente Ramirez – the marred father of a newborn
child – was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where he died from
a liver wound.

Middlesex County authorities say Ramirez was trying to parallel-park when the
other car nearly hit his car. Several people then got out of both cars and a
verbal dispute soon turned physical.

An occupant of the second car then fired several shots, but it did not appear
that anyone besides Ramirez was wounded. The people in the second car drove off
after the shooting occurred, and they remain at large.

Teen charged as adult in east-side road-rage stabbing
TUDOR AND BRAGAW: Youth says he had taken cocaine; victim approached him out of
concern.
By TATABOLINE BRANT
Anchorage Daily News

A 17-year-old accused of stabbing a man in a road rage incident Friday has been
charged as an adult with first-degree assault, the district attorney's office
said.

David Christopher Kellum is also charged with four counts of reckless
endangerment, all misdemeanors, according to documents filed in court Saturday.

Kellum is accused of stabbing 42-year-old Johnnie F. Bowen with a folding knife
Friday evening around rush hour, within sight of Anchorage Police Department
headquarters. Bowen suffered lacerations to his spleen and diaphragm and
required surgery. He was recovering in the hospital Monday.

According to police and charging documents, Kellum was driving recklessly in his
mother's 2003 silver Dodge Durango before the stabbing. Three passengers in the
Durango told police that Kellum was speeding, tailgating, swerving in and out of
traffic, honking his horn, flipping off drivers and flashing his high beams,
charges say.

Bowen, who was driving his 13-year-old son to hockey practice at the Tesoro
Sports Centre, said he noticed the Durango as he drove down Tudor Road in his
pickup. He told his son, "Don't ever drive like that."

Before long, the Durango started riding Bowen's bumper.

"Each time Mr. Bowen attempted to change lanes the defendant would also change
lanes," charges say.

Bowen stopped at a red light at Tudor and Bragaw Street, in front the Anchorage
Police Department. The Durango pulled up behind him and the driver blew the horn
and started flashing the high beams, charges say.

Bowen said in a telephone interview from his hospital room Monday that he wasn't
sure what was going on in the Durango at that point. He thought there might have
been a medical emergency. He got out of his pickup, walked over to the
driver's-side window and tapped on the glass.

"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked the man. "What's the
problem?"

"I'll show you what my problem is," Bowen recalled the driver saying back.

Kellum attacked Bowen as Bowen started walking back to his pickup, charges say.
Bowen was stabbed once in the side and then got control of the knife.

The three passengers inside the Durango -- a mother and her daughter and another
male -- saw the two men struggle, charges say. The daughter tried to get into
the driver's seat of the Durango, but Kellum returned and pushed her away,
charges say.

Kellum drove off. The passengers told police that they pleaded with him to let
them out of the truck but that he refused to stop and locked all the doors,
charges say. Kellum threatened to "take them all out" if they went to the
authorities, the mother told police.

Bowen walked back to his pickup. His son didn't realize his dad had been
stabbed.

"It was real scary," Bowen said. "I didn't know what had happened at first. It
finally hit me on the way to the hospital when I was bleeding. I was thinking: I
don't need my boy to see all that. Please, Lord, help me get through this."

As Bowen made his way to Alaska Native Medical Center, the closest hospital, the
Durango sped down Tudor. Near Lake Otis, it struck a light pole, charges say.
The daughter and the male passenger fled the vehicle. The mother escaped after
Kellum pulled into a nearby parking lot on Tudor, charges say.

The three passengers helped police find the suspect, who was holed up in a
residence on the 4400 block of View Circle, said police spokesman Ron McGee.
Officers surrounded the home and Kellum was taken into custody, McGee said.

Kellum told police he was driving fast because he was angry that his friends
were giving him a hard time, charges say. He said he honked his horn at Bowen
because his passengers told him Bowen had flipped them off. He told police he
thought Bowen might be armed because he had his hands in his pockets, charges
say.

"The defendant admitted that he did not feel threatened by Mr. Bowen but
confronted him because he did not want his friends to think less of him,"
charges say.

Kellum also told police he used cocaine Friday morning, charges say. He did not
have a valid driver's license, police said.

If convicted on the felony charge, Kellum faces up to 20 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine.

State law provides for an automatic waiver into the adult judicial system when
juveniles 16 or older are charged with certain serious crimes.

Bowen thinks it's good that Kellum is being charged as an adult.

"I feel he would have killed me if I hadn't stopped him from doing so," he said.

An incident of road rage left one driver charged with criminal damage to
property after an early Sunday morning incident on Interstate 90.

According to an Austin Police Department report, a Minnesota State Patrol
trooper intercepted the two vehicles involved in the incident before Austin
police arrived to make an arrest.

The driver of one vehicle called 9-1-1 to report a vehicle was being driven
recklessly along Interstate 90.

Moments later, the same driver called 9-1-1 to report the driver of the vehicle
he reported to be driven recklessly was now chasing him.

The vehicles were being driven eastbound on the freeway until they turned into
the westbound lanes at the 11th Street NE exit and sped westbound to the West
Oakland Avenue exit where the MSP trooper halted them.

The criminal damage to property charge stems from an individual in one of the
vehicles being accused of throwing a baseball into a right rear passenger window
of the other vehicle and breaking it.

It's that time of year again, what's said to be the busiest travel holiday of
the year. Hundreds of people will get in their cars and drive to their holiday
destinations Wednesday.

But before you leave, the Department of Public Safety has a warning for you.

DPS is stressing the issue of driving responsibly and avoiding road rage.

Inevitably, this time of year, the number of accidents on the road go up, and
they want to avoid that and keep you safe.

Plan ahead before you leave for your destination, and try to leave as early as
possible.

DPS says aggressive drivers tend to commit several traffic violations to make up
time. That puts you and other drivers in danger.

Drinking and driving and not wearing your seatbelt are also dangerous, something
law enforcement officers statewide will crack down on.

"During the holidays, the roads are so busy, and everyone is trying to get to
their destination on time, so we just want to encourage people to plan ahead,
take their time, and be patient," Lisa Block with the DPS said, "Troopers and
law enforcement all over the state definitely crack down during the holidays. We
have all available troopers, and other agencies are doing the same thing."

Believe it or not, DPS has put together a laundry list of sorts with the main
things drivers do that tend to cause rage in drivers. They include not using
your turn signals, driving in the passing lane, tailgating, flashing lights or
using high beams in traffic, honking and driving in a hurry.

Many people will get a jump start on their holiday travel heading out later
Wednesday. Be careful when you do.

Mr Garcha worked at the family shop in Darlington
A motorist who ran over a shopkeeper leaving him brain-damaged after he refused
to sell cigarettes to his teenage son, has been jailed for four years.
Teesside Crown Court was told accountant Rakhvinder Singh Garcha had refused to
sell the cigarettes to the 15-year-old boy and his father Alan Rees.

The court heard Rees then stormed into the shop making threats.

Mr Garcha, 22, who helped to run the family newsagents and off-licence in
Faverdale, Darlington, followed him outside and stood in front of the family's
Astra car.

Rees then drove off at speed, leaving Mr Garcha spread-eagled across the bonnet.

After 50 yards he was thrown off, but suffered brain injuries in the fall.

Driving ban

The damage to his brain was permanent and had led to a catastrophic change to
his life, the court was told.

Rees, 38, from Auckland Grove, Darlington, was jailed for four years and banned
from driving for 12 years.

He was cleared of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, but convicted of
grievous bodily harm after the incident on 28 March.

He was also found guilty of dangerous driving and attempting to pervert the
course of justice.

His wife, Elizabeth, 39, was given a three year rehabilitation order after she
changed her plea to guilty to a charge of attempting to pervert the course of
justice.

Sentencing Rees, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, Peter Fox QC, said that it was
the worst case of inflicting grievous bodily harm he had encountered in nearly
40 years.

IRONTON -- The following information was supplied from Lawrence County Sheriff’s
Department reports:

ASSAULT: A 55-year-old South Point woman reported Sunday she was hit by a man in
a truck after her car stalled in traffic in Burlington. After the car stalled,
the woman exited her vehicle and was standing outside her car. A motorist became
irate and cursed at her and drove into her with his truck, pinning her between
her car and the truck, the woman told sheriff’s deputies. The woman was not
transported to a hospital by emergency workers.

A judge cut off more than three years Monday from the
remaining portion of a 10-year prison term in a road rage case.
Cecil Whig, MD

Now George Colin Murray, 23, of Elkton, has three years left on his term instead
of six and-a-half years. And he can serve that time in the county jail, where
he's eligible for the work release program, instead of in a state prison.

Cecil County Circuit Court Judge O. Robert Lidums made those provisions Monday
while granting a defense motion for reduction of sentence.

Murray has been in a Maryland Department of Corrections prison since May 2000,
when Lidums gave him a 10-year term for first-degree assault for shooting at an
occupied vehicle in Elkton.

Blamed on "road rage," Murray leaned out a car window at the intersection of
Peach Lane and Sycamore Road about noon on Nov. 22, 1998, and fired four shots
from a handgun at a car driven by Brandon Criddle, according to court records.

Three bullets hit the driver's side door of the vehicle, court records show.
Police investigators were unable to recover the fourth bullet, according to
court records.

No one was injured.

Specifically, Lidums imposed a 20-year sentence on Murray for the assault and
suspended half of it. The judge gave him credit for 67 days that he served after
his arrest.

Lidums also gave Murray a concurrent three-year sentence for a related
conviction on one count of wearing, carrying and transporting a handgun in a
motor vehicle.

Murray pleaded guilty to those charges in December 1999 as part of a plea
agreement with the state.

In exchange, prosecutors dropped related charges, including use of a handgun in
the commission of a crime of violence and reckless endangerment.

On Monday, Murray's assistant public defender, Thomas Klenk, argued for a
sentence reduction for his client.

The defense attorney reported that Murray had served approximately three
and-a-half years, leaving him with about six and-a-half years left of his
10-year term.

Considering "good time" credit Murray has accumulated and will continue to earn,
Klenk estimated that his client probably would be released in about three years.

Along those lines, Klenk also noted that Murray would be eligible for review by
the parole board soon.

Based on those reasons, Klenk opined, steps should be taken to ensure that
Murray has a smooth transition back into society.

And that could be accomplished, according to Klenk, by reducing Murray's
sentence enough to allow him to be a work release inmate at the local jail.

(Convicts with incarceration terms that are three years or less are eligible to
be inmates at the county detention center.)

Cecil County State's Attorney Christopher J. Eastridge, meanwhile, argued that
Murray should be punished for the crime and, therefore, he should serve his
entire 10-year prison term.

"This case should be about punishment, not rehabilitation," Eastridge said.

On Monday, after hearing arguments from both sides, Lidums lowered the balance
of Murray's term to three years.

Agreeing that Murray needs gradual re-acclimation to society, Lidums specified
that the three-year term would be served in the county jail, where Murray will
be eligible for the work release program.

Police Searching For Alleged, Road-Rage Killer In New
Brunswick, New Jersey
KEMBERLY RICHARDSON
Courtesy of WABC News - New York

New Brunswick ? Police say they know who killed a young father in a case of road
rage in New Brunswick. Now, a reward is being offered for his capture.

Police say Ruben Chavez did not know Vincante Ramirez, but that didn't stop
Chavez from shooting and killing the father of a two month old. Now police are
looking for Chavez and they may not have to look too far.

Police say their suspect is Ruben Martinez Chavez. In New Brunswick he goes by
the nickname "Loco."

He's now charged with Sunday's fatal shooting of a young father on Hale Street.
Vicente Ramirez was parking his pickup truck outside his home, when another SUV
roared up the street.

The near-hit turned into an argument. That turned into a fight and police say
that's when chavez drew a gun and shot Ramirez twice, killing him.

Police filed a complaint in court yesterday. Chavez now is charged with murder.
Prosecutors say that's based on statements from witnesses. Police have searched
his home and they believe he's still in New Brunswick. He's described as five
feet eight inches, weighing about 200 pounds. He is also clean shaven, with
black hair. Relatives of the victim want Chavez punished for the Ramirez murder.

If you know where Rueben Martinez Chavez is or anything about this case, you
should call NBPD at 732-745-5217. All calls will be kept confidential.

A road rage incident on the exit ramp from Rte. 95 north to Rte. 128 led to the
arrest last Wednesday of an East Providence man after he allegedly twice pointed
a gun at the driver of a tractor trailer truck.

State Police Spokesman Lt. Paul Maloney said the incident occurred at
approximately 3:30 p.m.

Eric J. Jeung, 23, the driver of a red BMW, was arrested by state Trooper Paul
Baker of the Troop H C.A.T. Team after he spotted and pulled over his vehicle on
Rte. 128, near Rte. 37 in Randolph.

State police moved to apprehend Jeung after the driver of the tractor trailer
used his cell phone to report the incident to state police.

Jeung was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm,
speeding and operating to endanger. The weapon allegedly used in the incident, a
4.5 mm cartridge powered pellet gun in his vehicle, could potentially have
caused a fatality if fired, Maloney said.

"The truck was existing from Rte. 95 and the ramp goes from two lanes to one
which necessitates a merge by the traffic," Maloney said. "The BMW was
apparently on the right side of the tractor trailer and as the roadway narrowed
the driver of the BMW, rather than brake and fall backwards, accelerated and
passed the truck on the right side, causing him to go off on the shoulder of the
road to accomplish this."

Maloney said Jeung then allegedly re-entered the roadway in front of the tractor
trailer and at that point, turned to the right, aiming a pellet gun which
closely resembled a high-powered handgun toward the truck driver over the back
of the front seat.

After that, he said, Jeung braked, opened his driver's side door, and pointed
the gun again at truck driver Jose Rodriquez, before speeding away. Rodriquez
works for a company in Stoughton.

Maloney said there was no indication of improper driving by Rodriquez.

"To the best of our estimation, he wasn't doing anything wrong," Maloney said.
"The roadway necessitated a merge from two lanes to one. The truck driver did
not take any deliberate action to cut off the BMW, but the driver of the BMW
took offense to his action and made an inappropriate response."

Jeung posted bail after his arrest. He was arraigned in Stoughton District Court
last Thursday and was released on personal recognizance.

A 53-YEAR-OLD motorist with a history of heart disease died at the wheel of his
car after a heated row with another driver, an inquest heard this week.

Despite suffering a heart attack only weeks before, where doctors warned him to
avoid stressful situations, Phillip David Hawkins, a retired HGV driver of
Cookham Road, Maidenhead, continued the heated exchange knowing it might kill
him.

Mr Hawkins, who also suffered from Angina, was visiting friends with his wife,
Angela, on Saturday, May 24 this year.

At about 1pm he met a white Ford Mondeo on Ellington Road he had passed minutes
earlier.

As the cars slowed down Mrs Hawkins heard the driver, an Asian man in his 30s,
joke through the open window that Mr Hawkins should stop following him.

Another comment then caused Mr Hawkins to slam on his brakes to demand an
apology.

Onlookers witnessed angry shouting as both men got out of their cars.

They then heard a thud and turned round to see both men lying on the floor on
top of Mrs Hawkins, who had tried to get her husband to return to the car. It is
believed Mr Hawkins lost his balance and, in trying to prevent himself from
falling, pulled the man with him.

After being helped back up by onlookers he continued his argument for a brief
period. He then returned to his car with his wife as the two men drove away but
immediately told her to call an ambulance and was helped out of the car.

Meanwhile, the other driver and his passenger returned to the scene to look for
his mobile phone, but despite Mr Hawkins' obvious distress he refused calls by
onlookers to stay and sped off.

Mr Hawkins was rushed to Wexham Park Hospital but was pronounced dead on
arrival.

As he returned the verdict of death by misadventure, Peter Bedford, coroner for
East Berkshire, said there was clear evidence from pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary
that the heart attack was caused by the stress of the confrontation. But he said
there was no proof of a criminal offence being committed.

He added: "While the actual cause of death is a natural occurring event it seems
to me that without this confrontation Mr Hawkins would have lived for a longer
period than he did. He had a choice. He knew he should avoid the confrontation
but he chose to carry on the argument."

East Ridge Police have arrested John Brown Sr., 50, of 1117 Belmeade Ave.,
Chattanooga, and charged him with two counts of aggravated assault in the
shooting incident Friday night in East Ridge.

Police said they concluded that the case began as a road rage incident on
Westside Drive on the Chattanooga side of the tunnels and escalated through the
tunnel. It resulted in both cars (one containing two brothers and the other a
father and son) stopping in the 3200 block of Old Ringgold Road and starting to
fight.

At some point during the fight the father, John Brown Sr., pulled a handgun and
started firing. One of the victims grabbed Mr. Brown’s arm causing him to shoot
himself in the foot. He also shot both victims in the arm and legs.

None of the gunshot wounds appear to be life threatening at this time.

At this time these are the only charges being filed, police said.

East Ridge Police Chief Eddie Phillips said, "We want to warn motorist that road
rage incidents can suddenly become deadly. Do not allow an incident of
aggressive driving to escalate to this point. Try to ignore aggressive drivers
and continue on your way. Never become aggressive in return and never stop your
vehicle and attempt to confront or fight an aggressive driver.

I’m very proud of the East Ridge Officers and Detectives who worked long into
the night on a holiday weekend to solve this case and make a fast arrest."

Larry Scott of the Morgan School of Driving said, "Once the incident has
started, ego takes over and everybody has got to be the one who wins."

New York State law now requires instructors to discuss aggressive driving and
road rage with students, before they can take their road test.

Experts say there are ways to avoid road rage. If you feel yourself getting
angry get off the road and take a break. To prevent it in the first place leave
early, you're less likely to get mad at other drivers- if you're not rushing.

If you're the victim of an aggressive driver, back off and don't make eye
contact.

LOS ANGELES -- A collision apparently caused by a dispute between two motorists
on the Hollywood (101) Freeway left one of the men hospitalized with major
injuries, authorities said Monday.

The collision occurred about 7 p.m. Sunday on the northbound 101 south of Barham
Boulevard, said California Highway Patrol Sgt. Rick Miler.

The injured man, whose name was not immediately known, was taken to County- USC
Medical Center for treatment, Miler said. The other motorist, 20-year-old Andres
Maldonado of Thousand Oaks, Calif., was uninjured, Miler said.

The injured man was driving a 1991 Isuzu Trooper and Maldonado was driving a
2001 Audi S4 sedan when the men became involved in a rolling altercation by lane
changing and brake-checking each other, Miler said.

When the Isuzu swerved to the left and struck the right side of the Audi, the
Isuzu went out of control, hit the center divider and ended up on the southbound
freeway lanes, Miler said.

The Isuzu was then struck by a southbound 1995 Dodge Stealth driven by 23-
year-old Adrian Chapek of Plano, Texas, Miler said.

The Isuzu driver was ejected from his vehicle and was struck by a southbound
1996 Nissan Maxima driven by 50-year-old Ana Young of Bellflower, Calif., Miler
said.

Chapek was treated for moderate injuries at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Miler
said. Young was unhurt. No citations were immediately issued, authorities said.

Rochester police say road rage is to blame for a car crashing into a house
yesterday afternoon.
Police say a man driving with his wife and two children got into an argument
with another driver.
Witnesses say the two drivers were racing at high speeds when one of the cars
forced the other off the road.
Firefighters say they worked to free the four people in the car but fears that
the house might collapse made it difficult.
Police say once the driver and passengers were free they were taken to a
hospital with minor injuries.
No one was in the house at the time of the accident.
Police say they are looking for the drivier of the other car who left the scene
of the crash.

A Cape Town man convicted on two counts of attempted murder will be sentenced in
April next year in the Cape Town magistrate's court.

Alberto Saunders, 23, was convicted for beating two men, Marc Combrink and Mark
Walden, on the head and face with a baseball bat during a road rage incident in
February last year.

Walden was beaten unconscious when he tried to intervene as Saunders laid into
Combrink.

The case, before magistrate Edmund Patterson, was to have been finalised on
Wednesday, but defence counsel Andre Botha said a postponement was needed for
the completion of a psychiatric report by two private psychiatrists, as part of
evidence in mitigation.

Botha said Saunders' lack of funds had caused a delay in the assessment.

In his earlier judgment, Patterson rejected Saunders' defence that he acted in
an emergency when he thought Combrink, the driver of the other car, was reaching
for a firearm.

Both victims suffered fractured skulls, and have severe headaches and blackouts
virtually every day since the incident.

The attack happened after Combrink, driving behind Saunders after a night out,
flashed his lights at Saunders.

In his judgment, Patterson said Saunders had forced Combrink's car to a halt,
and had displayed a high degree of aggression in the ensuing confrontation.

Instead of avoiding an incident by driving away, Saunders had started the
confrontation and, after punching Combrink in the face, had attacked both men in
a reckless manner with the baseball bat.

Patterson said Saunders had taken the matter much further than a reasonable man,
acting in self-defence in an emergency, would have.

The fact that both victims had suffered fractured skulls indicated the high
degree of violence used.

He accepted prosecutor Megan Blows contention that the attack amounted to
attempted murder, and not the less serious offence of assault with intent to
inflict grievous bodily harm, as contended by Botha.

Naming Fox Interactive, Electronic Arts and developer Radical Entertainment as
defendants, the suit claims that Simpsons Road Rage was designed to
"deliberately copy and imitate" the Crazy Taxi gameplay formula, for which it
would appear that Sega holds a patent.

Sega, which cites a number of reviews as part of its evidence of this patent
infringement, wants a cut of the game's profits to date (a not insubstantial
figure, given that Simpsons Road Rage has become a million-selling title since
its launch in late 2001) and wants it taken off the shelves to boot.

Although, like many such cases, it's entirely likely that this suit will never
see the inside of a courtroom, so no legal precedent will be set, industry
observers are likely to watch it keenly regardless. Whichever way a ruling in
this case was to go, it would be very important to the way that publishers and
developers do business in an industry where a great many games are simply clones
of a tried and tested formula developed elsewhere.

We're in two minds about the case. In general we don't support efforts to widen
the scope of patent law, particularly in terms of the sort of broader software
patents which enable this kind of gameplay patenting - and we were somewhat
shocked recently to learn that a respected British developer is apparently
planning to apply for a patent on a form of 3D lighting code used in its latest
game, causing anger in the traditionally very open 3D graphics programming and
research community.

Gameplay patents could arguably encourage more innovation in games and stem the
flow of staid clones which follow on from every successful original title, which
would certainly be a good thing. However, certain other less pleasant
possibilities also arise from a verdict in Sega's favour in this case. Imagine a
world where Bungie had patented the Halo control system - generally agreed as
the logical best solution to controlling FPS games on console joypads. Other
developers would be forced to adopt different and almost certainly inferior
control mechanisms; and the person who really lost out in the end would be the
consumer.

It happened on the Southern State Parkway, a week ago, Saturday. A little before
noon. I was in the left lane, near Exit 31, headed to New Jersey.

Traffic was heavy, but moving.

There were cars in the lane next to mine. I was five or six car lengths behind
the car ahead of me, doing 55 mph. I was in my yellow and black Mini Cooper S.
On the stereo, Santana was playing "Smooth."

All of a sudden, there was a grill in my rear-view mirror. So close I couldn't
see the bumper - or windshield. Just the grill of what I later learned was a
Ford Econoline van, 10 feet off my rear end.

I assessed the situation. I couldn't move over. Cars there. I couldn't speed up.
Cars there. I couldn't slow down to move behind the line of cars next to me. The
van driver wouldn't let me. He had me boxed in.

I thought: If I have to stop, my car will stop faster than his van. He had
created a dangerous situation. He was tailgating, was in a bigger vehicle than
mine. And, it was obvious, he was an aggressive driver.

I had few choices. The ones I did have were all unsafe. So, I chose to tap my
brakes to send a message that wasn't getting through: Back off.

The other driver flew into a rage.

He cut to his right, into the line of cars next to me, inched up on the car
ahead of him until he could get alongside my car. He rolled down his window. He
was screaming - and giving me the finger.

He started to squeeze into my lane, his 5,308-pound van inching over, trying to
force me onto the median. He did this several times, until my left tires were
against the curbing.

He cut in front of me, then cut back into the middle lane. He shook his fist out
the window. He threw garbage at my car. He waved his hand, pointing toward
exits. He wanted me to pull off the road with him.

I drive a small car, but I'm not a small man. I've been known to have a temper.
You don't want to get me mad. Trust me.

But I'm not an idiot, either. And I'm not willing to go to jail over road rage.

This guy was. I called 911.

Across Long Island, each and every day, hundreds of us on the roads have to
contend with so- called "aggressive drivers." Sometimes, as with this incident,
the scenario evolves into "road rage."

Last month, an aggressive driving incident in Uniondale became what police
called road rage when one driver, Kazu Amano, 22, of Rockville Centre, allegedly
cut off another driver, Thomas Damiani, 18, of Massapequa Park, after a
confrontation on Hempstead Turnpike.

Amano was charged with second-degree reckless assault. Damiani lost control of
his 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. It flipped. He was ejected, severely injured.

Sometimes, people die.

The American Automobile Association studied 10,000 incidents of violent,
aggressive driving committed between 1990-96 in the United States. The number of
casualties was staggering: 218 dead, 12,610 injured.

And remember. The victim in these incidents has no idea who he or she is dealing
with. And, neither does the aggressor.

I could have been a police officer. Or a criminal. I could have been carrying a
baseball bat. Or a gun. And so could he. It turned out I was the "On the Roads"
columnist for Newsday.

And not insane. But, who knows?

One AAA safety instructor, Frank Niland, tells of an incident decades ago on the
New Jersey Turnpike. The driver of a tractor- trailer decided - just for fun -
he would attempt to force a car into the divider.

The driver fired a pistol shot into the truck cab. The police came. The officers
arrested the truck driver for attempted murder of a federal agent.

Turned out, Niland said, the car driver was a Secret Service agent assigned to
protect the president.

"You never know," Niland said.

"The best thing you can do in these situations," Nassau County Police Department
spokesman Sgt. Anthony Repalone said, "is to avoid eye contact. To do everything
you can do not to have the situation escalate. To defuse it. To let cooler heads
prevail."

But, he said, if none of those options work, a victimized motorist should call
911.

I did. The dispatcher informed me officers would have to witness the situation
to take action.

Though the incident lasted almost five minutes, the man in the van got off the
Southern State at Exit 28N, Wantagh Road - before a state trooper could be
dispatched to the scene.

He was still shaking his fist, trying to convince me to follow him.

Days after the incident, I called the man I told him I write for Newsday. I told
him my name. I asked him if he had been involved in a "situation" on the
Southern State.

He said: "I don't know what you're talking about." I said: "I think you do. I'm
the guy in the yellow car, and I'd like to talk to you."

He said: "So, you're the -- who slammed on the brakes in front of me." He hung
up the phone.

As a matter of fact, I am the -- who hit the brakes. But I wasn't the tailgater.
I wasn't the one who tried to run anyone off the road. I wasn't the aggressor. I
didn't throw objects out my car window. I didn't shake my fist.

But I'm not going to be a victim, either. And neither should you.

So if someone does this to you, attempt to diffuse the situation first. If you
can't, call 911. "Drivers like this are not a potential danger - they are a
danger," Repalone said.

They swerve in and out of traffic on the highway, trying to pick up a few
valuable seconds.
They fly down the two-lane roads well over the speed limit, passing other cars
on the shoulder or in no passing zones.
They ride the back bumper of slower vehicles that may have the misfortune of
being in front of them. And when they finally pass the vehicle, they make an
obscene gesture toward the other driver.
It happens all the time, and law enforcement officers have termed this type of
behavior aggressive driving, which often leads to road rage.
But road rage is more than just two vehicles trying to run each other off the
road or two drivers being involved in a violent altercation following a minor
traffic accident.
Statistics show that accidents caused by road rage increase during the month of
December, possibly because of the additional stress on drivers during the
holiday season. In 2000, 17 fatal accidents in Texas listed road rage as a
contributing factor. In the next-closest month that year, there were 10 road
rage fatalities in August, according to the DPS statistics.
"Road rage can occur anytime someone is so frustrated, upset and angry because
they're not getting somewhere as fast as they think they should," DPS Capt.
Randy McDaniel said.
Road rage may not just affect the two drivers who initiated the dispute or
caused tempers to flare. Other drivers who may be headed in the opposite
direction or traveling on a different road may be the unfortunate victims of the
raging tempers.
"When people are running late, they get mad because someone is slowing them
down," McDaniel said. "They get mad, and they get frustrated, and they start
taking chances, cutting people off, swerving in and out of traffic and speeding.
It's a deadly combination of things that can lead to a bad accident."
In 2000, the DPS recognized that road rage was becoming such a common occurrence
that the DPS began listing it as a contributing factor in fatal accidents, along
with driving while impaired, seatbelt use and speed.
In 2000, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 90 fatal
accidents in Texas were caused, at least in part, by road rage.
The AAA Texas gives drivers several tips for avoiding a road rage incident with
another driver.
The association tells drivers to avoid cutting people off, driving slowly in the
left lane, tailgating and obscene gestures; steer clear of drivers who appear
angry or agitated, avoid eye contact and call for help if a dangerous situation
arises, according to the AAA Web site.
"Give yourself plenty of time," McDaniel said. "Understand that things may not
go the way you want. There may be an accident that delays you.
"If someone gets mad at you, don't take matters into your own hands. If you have
a cell phone, call DPS to report the individual. Don't make eye contact; ignore
them and take the next exit. Don't respond to their aggressive behavior."
Aggressive drivers often break a number of traffic laws as they rush to get to
their destination or catch up with another driver who offended them. DPS
troopers and other law enforcement officers are always on the lookout for those
violations, McDaniel said.
"We look for potentially hazardous violations -- passing in no passing zones,
following too close, changing lanes in an unsafe manner," McDaniel said. "All of
these things will increase the potential for a fatal accident to occur."

Editor's note: This is the 13th in a weekly series of stories to run in Friday's
edition of The Courier that will address issues surrounding traffic-related
deaths. A recent study showed that Montgomery County had the highest rate of
traffic-related deaths among the 20 largest counties in the state for the year
2000, the most recent data available.

Martha Badgley, a desk officer with Fort Collins Police Services, said road rage
is more common than it used to be.

Badgley said the Colorado State Patrol produced a hotline specifically for road
rage. A person being harassed by a road rager can call the hotline on their cell
phone and give details on the person harassing them.

To report a road rager situation, dial *227 on a cell phone or call 303-239-4501
to report an aggressive driver.

Jeanne Helgeson, police communications officer for the Colorado State Patrol,
said the hotline has been in service since about 1999.

The information reported to the Colorado State Patrol is stored in a computer
file. If the case is serious, a patrolman will be dispatched.

If a person's name is reported three times, the road rager will receive a
warning. If the person's name were to be reported again, further actions would
be taken.

"It's been effective as far as making people aware, because they know they could
get called in," she said.

Helgeson said road ragers have become more violent than in previous years.

Capt. Bob Chaffee of the CSU Police Department said he's seen an increase in
road rage in the past few years.

Most cases on campus are conflicts over parking spaces, usually resulting in a
shouting match, Chaffee said.

"People are less forgiving over minor indiscretions," he said.

Amy Garrison, a Loveland resident, said road rage would be a smaller problem if
people were more aware of how they drove.

"People are always cutting me off or driving slow in the fast lane," Garrison
said. "If people would learn how to drive, we wouldn't have a problem."

Garrison stated on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the worst degree of road
rage, she's about a seven. She said she's followed people before, but it never
resulted is serious conflict.

The FCPS doesn't record the incidents as road rage, according to Badgley.

"We treat different cases as assaults, disturbances, harassments or vehicular
assaults," she said.

Cases with no physical abuse to another driver are considered a disturbance or
harassment. A case where one driver physically hurts another driver is assault
and a case where a driver causes damage to another driver's vehicle is
considered vehicular assault.

NEW LENOX, Ill. -- A commander with the New Lenox Police Department was charged
with aggravated assault after allegedly pointing his gun at a female motorist
and her husband during a road rage incident on the Dan Ryan Expressway Sunday.

State police spokesman Lincoln Hamton said Cmdr. Thomas Klier, 44, was driving a
1999 Ford Explorer south on the Dan Ryan, near 75h Street, when he and the other
driver almost collided while trying to merge into the same lane. The two had "an
exchange of words" and pulled onto the shoulder of the expressway, where they
continued arguing.

During the argument, Klier allegedly pulled out a gun and threatened the female
driver, who was in a Ford Expedition with her husband.

Klier was arrested later that day, after state police got a phone call about the
alleged incident.

Klier was released on bond after being charged with aggravated assault. Police
said he was off duty at the time of the incident, and no alcohol was believed to
be involved.

December 9, 2003 — A commander in the New Lenox Police Department has been
charged with aggravated assault in connection with an apparent road rage
incident.
Commander Dennis Klier allegedly pointed his gun at a driver and her husband
during a traffic altercation on the Dan Ryan Expressway on Sunday. The driver
did not want to be identified.

"That's when the man had the gun to his head. And my husband turned around and
fell into his seat. I was startled and I totally stopped the vehicle. I had -- I
was too scared to go and too scared to stop. I thought my husband was shot and I
was waiting for the sound of the bullet," said the driver.

Commander Klier is still on duty at the New Lenox Police Department. Officials
there say they are waiting for reports from state police and will also conduct
their own investigation.

Police chase two teenagers after hearing they were throwing beer bottles at
drivers on the expressway. It all started as a complaint about road rage. Police
in Sullivan City were told to be on the lookout for a car. NEWSCHANNEL 5
obtained police video that clearly tells part of the story. The officer
approached the teens; however, as soon as he got close, they sped off. The teens
were driving so fast the police man lost them. The camera inside Officer Jose
Gonzalez's patrol car caught it all on tape. A mangled silver Mustang wrapped
around an electrical police and a teenager dead on the road. Gonzalez called for
help. Highway patrol investigators want to know more about the crash. They're
reconstructing the Mustangs last moves and trying to figure out the exact moment
the driver lost control. Patrol officers have already questioned the surviving
teen. He told officers that they had been drinking that day and also doing
marijuana. The officer involved in the chase will not be punished because
authorities say he did not cause the accident. NEWSCHANNEL 5 did talk to him and
he told us he felt very bad and very shaky and may seek counseling.

Road Rage Leads To Injuries, Arrest
Men Get Into Conflict On I-595
Click10.com, FL

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. -- Police say road rage led to injuries for one man and an
arrest for another Wednesday morning.

Witness Edith McInerny said she saw two trucks weaving in and out of traffic on
Interstate 595. One truck then reportedly forced the other into an emergency
lane and then rammed the rear of the truck several times, according to McInerny.

The Florida Highway Patrol later caught up with the drivers. Troopers said that
the aggressor in the incident was Carl Patregnani, the driver of the car. He is
charged with aggravated battery.

The driver of the truck, Richard Gasque of Plantation, reportedly received minor
neck and back injuries. FHP said that Patregnani (pictured, above left) said he
was upset that Gasque had made a lane change and allegedly cut him off. FHP
disagrees, and said Gasque did not cut Patregnani off.

As he was being taken away in handcuffs, Patregnani said, "I was falsely charged
by FHP."

FHP says it has seen a steady increase in aggressive driving over the years, in
part due to the growth in population here in South Florida and also tied to
frustration with continuing road construction.

Lt. Bill Ferrell said, "We'd suggest taking a deep breath and allowing the
vehicle in front of you to go about his business. Don't give him a gesture or
any signs. Don't stare at that person and continue on your business."

The FHP is sending out aggressive driver details to keep tabs on drivers that
aren't keeping tabs on their tempers -- and FHP is also sending officers into
community meetings to educate the public about the dangers of aggressive
driving.

The FHP says it is also working with the Department of Transportation to find
ways to help keep traffic moving in construction zones, one of the greatest
sources of aggravation for South Florida drivers.

Road rage breaks out over Holyrood street BRIAN FERGUSON CITY COUNCIL REPORTER

CITY leaders are threatening to block the reopening of a road outside the new
Scottish Parliament, claiming work on the showpiece avenue is being done "on the
cheap".

Horse Wynd, which runs between the emerging parliament building and the Palace
of Holyroodhouse, has been closed for more than a year as part of the
controversial £400 million building project.

The street was due to reopen next week - six months later than planned- after
being resurfaced by contractors working on the parliament building.

But parliament project chiefs have decided to re-lay the formerly cobbled
streets with tarmac - to the fury of city leaders.

Council leader Donald Anderson has denounced the plans - which would save the
parliament project almost £500,000 - and insisted that they contravene an
agreement with the local authority.

He has threatened to fight any move by the parliament building bosses to ditch
the street’s historic cobbles.

The council, as the local transport and planning authority, has the power to
refuse to reopen the road until it is satisfied with the work.

Council officials have dashed off an angry letter raising serious concerns about
the tarmac plan and demanding to know when work will begin on re-laying the
cobbles.

Horse Wynd was closed in September 2002 to allow the road to be realigned and
re-surfaced as part of the parliament project.

At the time, the council refused permission for tarmac to be used at Horse Wynd,
saying it would leave the street looking "suburban".

Councillor Anderson said today: "My understanding is there was a clear agreement
that this road would be properly reinstated and I think we should strongly
resist any attempt to back away from that.

"We’re talking about a key medieval gateway to the city. We don’t want this
resurfacing done on the cheap, especially considering the amount of money that’s
being spent on the parliament building.

"In my view it’s better that they go ahead and cobble the road now rather than
go ahead with a temporary opening then have to close it down again.

"If you think about the impact this closure has had on Dynamic Earth, now is the
perfect time to do the work."

The city’s transport leader, Councillor Andrew Burns, suggested the authority
would not allow the road to reopen without cobbles being installed.

He said: "The Scottish Parliament was granted permission by the council for a
temporary closure of Horse Wynd to reinstate the road in the form of cobbles,
which is clearly appropriate for the location in question.

"We’ve given them 18 months to undertake this work and to date it’s not been
carried out.

"The basis of the traffic regulation order that we approved was that the road
was re-laid with cobbles.

"They’ve still got until the middle of March to carry out the work. They simply
don’t have consent to lay it with tarmac and haven’t yet come to us to request
that."

Holyrood officials are keen to opt for tarmac which would cost £70,000 to lay
instead of the £500,000 bill for laying cobbles.

Parliament project officials have said cobbles are "notorious" for failing under
the weight of modern traffic and that is has proved extremely difficult to get a
council-approved contractor to carry out the work.

A parliament spokesman was today adamant that the tarmacing would go ahead.

He said: "Following the decision to lay Horse Wynd with tarmac instead of setts,
work is currently under way to lay the footpath on the parliament side and
install lighting.

"The sub-base for the road is already in place, and the final layer of tarmac
will be laid next week. This will enable Horse Wynd to open by Christmas."

Dynamic Earth, the science-based tourist attraction at the foot of Holyrood
Road, has pinned the blame for a slump in visitor numbers on the closure of
Horse Wynd.

Today, a council spokeswoman said: "We’re very unhappy that the work on Horse
Wynd has not been carried out to the specifications that were agreed.

"We still expect that work to be carried out and will be pursuing this with the
parliament.

Road rage search turns up note, arms
'If I should die' title of letter found in car
By Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

State troopers investigating the Pittsburgh police officer accused of shooting
at a truck during a road-rage incident found a letter in the car he drove titled
"If I should die."

Paul Anthony Palmer Jr. signed the letter, the contents of which were not
released.

It was found in his girlfriend's green Subaru, which state police said Palmer
was driving when he fired seven bullets at Wilkinsburg truck driver Oliver
Sherwood last Wednesday.

The incident occurred around 1 p.m. on the Parkway West in Collier near the
on-ramp from Interstate 79. Police said Palmer, 35, and Sherwood, 33, were both
driving west when the Subaru suddenly pulled in front of the truck, causing
Sherwood to slam on the brakes.

Police said the Subaru then changed lanes and as Sherwood tried to pass, Palmer
fired at least seven shots from a 9 mm handgun. Sherwood was not injured.

Also found in the Subaru were three spent 9 mm casings and 27 bullets for a 9 mm
gun. Police said it is not yet known if Palmer, a 10-year veteran who has been
off duty for a year with carpal tunnel syndrome, a wrist injury, used his
service weapon in the incident.

Investigators also searched another vehicle used by Palmer. They came up empty
there, but a third search warrant obtained for the Cecil home of Palmer's
mother, Marion Saut, turned up more weaponry.

AS A response to the high number of deaths and accidents on local roads and the
associated listener frustration, ABC South East has taken the initiative to put
together a week of programs that will focus on lowering the road toll in the
state's south east.
As a lead-in to the Christmas holiday period, ABC South East is conducting an
awareness campaign that encourages discussion and debate on how to change the
attitudes and values of those using our roads.
"As the leading talk stations in the region we have an opportunity to facilitate
discussion with our listeners and the 'experts'," says Andrew Ogilvie, Regional
Program Manager with ABC South East.
"The Breakfast, Morning and Afternoon programs have enlisted the support of the
RTA, NSW Police, SES, NSW Ambulance and families of victims of motor accidents.
"We will cover issues ranging from the profile of a potential accident driver,
to young drivers and the problems they face. We will speak to driver groups and
professionals in an attempt to raise the awareness of driving to the conditions
and being considerate of all road users."
Programs will take listeners on an audio journey inside an unmarked police car
so they can understand a police officer's perspective.
World Champion motorcyclist and former racing car driver Wayne Gardner will be a
featured guest, listeners will have the chance to test their reaction time on
the Police Driver Training Course, and live reports will include an accident
scene.
ABC South East has designed the programs to help south eastern NSW "Lower the
Toll & Stay Alive".
Local State Politicians have also agreed to take any ideas that are generated by
our listeners during the week to their respective party rooms and come back to
the stations with feedback.
The special programs began on Monday, December 8 and will continue throughout
the week.

Two hotheads involved in a bizarre road rage incident Tuesday in St. James won't
be charged -- because neither one wants to file a formal complaint with police.
"Both males involved basically did something wrong -- one got out with a bat,
one got out with a knife," Winnipeg police staff Sgt. Brant Bishop told The Sun
yesterday.

The out-of-control incident began rather innocently about 11:15 a.m., when a man
who was stopped in his vehicle at a red light at Ellice Avenue and Century
Street was apparently daydreaming and failed to move immediately after the light
turned green.

That angered an impatient 50-year-old man in a vehicle behind him, who honked
his horn.

The men, both westbound on Ellice, allegedly exchanged unpleasantries and
angrily drove to a nearby parking lot where they got out of their vehicles and
yelled at each other.

The middle-aged complainant told police he drove away after the other man
brandished a knife with a six-inch blade.

Dist. 2 police tracked down the alleged knife-wielding motorist to get his side
of the story. That's when they determined the complainant had allegedly
brandished a bat. No injuries were reported.

Dispatcher: What kind of car is he in? Dawn: A white truck. I don't know what kind of truck it is. Dispatcher: Do you know him? Dawn: No ma'am, I don't know him.

Investigators said Ransom then got out of his truck at a stop light and walked
up to Eggelton's vehicle, still pointing the gun. Eggelton said he started
screaming, "What is your problem? I will kill you."

Eggleton said she eventually got away and was able to give Ransom's license
plate number to police. She's hoping to put this incident behind her and prays
no one has to go through what she experienced.

Johannesburg - The Johannesburg High Court sentenced road rage murderer Owen
Kroeger to 12 years on Friday, leaving the family of the victim dissatisfied at
the jail term.

The wife of Morare Matekane sobbed hysterically after Kroeger was sentenced, and
had his bail extended to next year pending the lodging of a petition for leave
to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein.

Kroeger is petitioning the SCA directly, as Judge Percy Blieden, the trial
judge, turned down Kroeger's application on Friday to appeal against conviction
and sentence.

Kroeger shot Morare Matekane dead in a road rage incident on August 2, 2001.
Matekane, 38, was married to Julia and the couple has three children.

He had his hands in the air when the incident took place at the intersection of
Marshall and End Streets, central Johannesburg. The incident happened during
morning peak traffic.

"It is clear that for some time, he (Kroeger) was not acting rationally,"
Blieden said when passing judgment on Friday.

The court found that Kroeger started going into a rage after a slight collision
with Matekane, a motor cyclist. The side mirror of the car Kroeger was driving
was damaged.

Kroeger was provoked when Matekane could not supply him with his personal
details. Kroeger was further aggravated when the metro police claimed to have
arrived 15 minutes later at the scene where motorists were hooting at him.

His car was blocking the traffic and he waved his firearm at them. He then fired
a warning shot before killing Matekane.

"This type of conduct cannot be condoned in any type of civil society," said
Blieden.

BENNINGTON, Vt. -- Three North Adams, Mass., men may be facing drug charges
after they were stopped by police for a road rage incident.

Police received a report Thursday afternoon that a person traveling in a dark
blue Ford Focus had brandished a firearm on a Bennington couple after an
incident of tailgating turned into road rage on Route 9.

Police managed to stop the vehicle on Dewey Street, but after searching the
vehicle no weapon was found, said Detective Sgt. Paul Doucette, of the
Bennington Police, who was at the scene.

"After searching the vehicle we were unable to find any firearms. When we
questioned (the couple) they couldn't describe the gun, which led us to believe
there wasn't a gun," Doucette said during a phone interview.

However, police did find a suspicious substance in the car that is being tested
for narcotic content, Doucette said.

Police did not release the names of the three men due to the ongoing
investigation of the substance.

The Vermont State Police assisted in the search of the North Adams vehicle,
which was conducted in the pouring rain.

There were no citations issued for the road rage incident, which started near
Vermont Confectionery. In an effort to discourage the men from tailgating, the
driver from Bennington had quickly applied his brakes, Doucette said.

The attempt failed, and when the Bennington driver pulled over to let the men
pass, the North Adams vehicle had pulled along next to them, Doucette said.

"They had an exchange of words and one of the North Adams men said, 'I'm going
to put a cap in your (expletive deleted),'" Doucette said.

The North Adams men then turned around and drove east through Bennington. The
men had tried to avoid police by using side streets in the downtown, but were
caught in less than five minutes after police received the call.

THE State Government has committed more than $92 million to help solve Sunshine
Motorway traffic snarls.
The funding, which is part of a $395 million package to be spent on
State-controlled roads on the Coast over the next five years, was announced by
Transport and Main Roads Minister Steve Bredhauer.
It includes almost $19 million to turn the section of the motorway between
Mooloolaba Road and Maroochydore Road into four lanes and another $35 million
for interchange improvements at either end of that stretch.
A total of $20 million has been promised to upgrade the motorway to four lanes
between Sippy Downs and the new Kawana Arterial and $15 million to accelerate
the Sippy Downs interchange.
Traffic sign improvements between the David Low Way and Emu Mountain Road will
receive $1.5 million over the next two years while $683,000 will be spent
completing road reconstruction work between the Wises Farm underpass and the
Maroochy River.
Another $1.1 million has been allocated to complete a long-term planning study
project on the motorway.
Mr Bredhauer said Sunshine Coast projects were the cornerstone of this year's
roads program in Queensland and would deliver better, safer roads to locals and
visitors.
''Funding for roads on the Coast has been the subject of lots of meetings and
deliberations for quite some time,'' his spokesman said.
''For obvious reasons, such as population growth, the Coast has been very
advantaged in this package.'' ALP Member for Kawana, Chris Cummins, said he was
delighted by the package.
''I'm beside myself,'' he said.
''It's what I've been asking for over the past three years.
''It focuses on central areas of the Coast where congestion has been the worst
and will provide a massive relief for our over-congested roads.'' Member for
Maroochydore, Fiona Simpson, welcomed the motorway funding but warned that its
failure to include the Pacific Paradise interchange would create a
multi-million-dollar bottleneck.
Premier Peter Beattie was well aware of gridlock on the Maroochy River Bridge,
she said.
''The Premier can spend tens of millions of dollars south of the river and still
have traffic jams if they don't include this vitally important interchange as
part of the network upgrade.
''...If they are going to put their head in the sand about this as it is a big
ticket item to fix, then they will negate the benefit of the upgrade south of
the river.'' The Sunshine Motorway was not the only stretch of Coast road to
receive funding, with $27 million to go to Noosa Shire Council for ongoing road
improvements and construction on the David Low Way.
A total of $6.5 million will go to making the Nicklin Way four lanes between
Caloundra Road and Beerburrum Street at Aroona while $9.25 million will be spent
over the next two years on major projects on the Landsborough-Maleny Road.
As well, $15.2 million goes towards completing the new two-lane Kawana Way
arterial link between the Nicklin Way and the motorway, and $4.1 million has
been allocated to complete pavement improvements on the Kin Kin Road between
Summit and Coorooy connection roads.
More than $3 million will also be spent over the next two years to widen Boreen
Point-Tewantin Road.
The State Government has also allocated $3 million for ''bus priority works'' on
State-controlled Coast roads.
Some of that money will fund studies into what needs to be done to improve
useage of public bus services, with the remainder to be used to carry out the
improvements.

Juan Gallegos, a 32-year-old construction worker and father of two, was found
dead Aug. 1 in a cafeteria parking lot. His pickup truck, with a damaged rear
section, was found burning in a ravine in nearby Haltom City three days later.

Authorities have said that Gallegos called 911 after the wreck, but the only
sound recorded was the voice of a man accusing Gallegos of "brake-checking."
Witnesses later identified the voice as that of Taylor's friend, Jeromy Jolley.

An auto shop worker told authorities that Taylor and another man went to his
business Aug. 1, saying a friend would bring in a truck that needed repairs,
according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

The worker told investigators that Jolley later drove a pickup that had
extensive front damage, the affidavit said. Taylor told the worker that Jolley
had been drunk, had a wreck and then beat the other car's driver "pretty bad,"
the affidavit said. The worker refused to repair the truck.

In November, Jolley, 21, was indicted on charges of murder and arson.

Others indicted in the case include: Cody Wayne Clanton, 22, on an arson charge
and two aggravated perjury charges accusing him of lying to a grand jury;
Derrick Bowman, 19, on three charges of aggravated perjury; and Joshua Aaron
Millican, 25, on an aggravated perjury charge accusing him of giving false grand
jury testimony.

A LORRY driver who knocked down a young dad leaving him virtually confined to a
wheelchair was convicted of dangerous driving today.

But trucker Brian Southgate was cleared of attempted murder for driving into
father-of-three Gary Steven as he waited to pick up his children from primary
school.

Following the verdicts, the jury at Manchester Crown Court was told about
Southgate's violent past, which included a road-rage attack.

In February 1971, the driver was given a supervision order after being convicted
of causing grievous bodily harm to a teenager when he threw ammonia in his face
during a row outside a mill.

Thirteen years later, he was conditionally discharged after punching a motorist
in the face after his lorry was involved in a collision with the victim's car
during a bust-up on the M6 motorway.

Assaulted

Then in 1987, Southgate was fined when he assaulted a teenager, before being
detained by the 17-year-old's father.

Now 52-year-old Southgate faces his first jail term for the dangerous driving
offence, which left Mr Steven with fractures to his pelvis and hip joint which
was smashed "like an eggshell".

Mr Justice Penry-Davey adjourned sentence for reports to be prepared.

But he banned Southgate from driving and warned him: "It may well be in this
case that the only course which is appropriate is a sentence of imprisonment.

"I regard this case as extremely serious and I think it is right that the court
should have as much information as possible before sentencing."

The jury had taken 80 minutes to clear him of offences of attempting to murder
Mr Steven and causing him grievous bodily harm outside Heap Bridge Primary
School, Heywood, one afternoon last April. The prosecution had claimed that he
deliberately drove at Mr Steven when a row about cars being parked on either
side of the road exploded into violence.

Mr Steven later spent nine weeks in hospital and needed reconstructive surgery,
but has been left with one leg 1½ inches shorter than the other.

But Southgate, of Daffodil Close, Haslingden, said he was "mortified" when he
realised he had hit Mr Steven with his 15½-tonne lorry.

He claimed that he was only trying to get away from the scene after a row.

FORT WORTH - A 22-year-old man accused of participating in the road-rage attack
on a Garland man that was recorded in a 911 call and then trying to help cover
up the crime was indicted Tuesday by a Tarrant County grand jury.

Brian C. Taylor is now facing trial on charges of assault with bodily injury,
tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and conspiring to commit arson.
The charges arose from of the Aug. 1 stabbing death of Juan Gallegos, a
32-year-old construction worker and father of two.

Taylor is the last of five people to be indicted in the crime or its aftermath,
officials said.

Gallegos' body was found in the parking lot of a cafeteria at Northeast Loop 820
and North Beach Street. Three days later, his Chevrolet pickup, with a damaged
rear section, was found burning in a ravine near the 6000 block of Rusk Street
in Haltom City.

Authorities have said Gallegos called 911 after the wreck but couldn't speak to
the Haltom City dispatcher who took the call. The call, however, recorded the
attack and the voice of a man accusing Gallegos of "brake-checking."

Witnesses later identified Taylor's friend, Jeromy Jolley, as the person heard
on the 911 tape stabbing Gallegos, authorities have said.

Taylor was implicated when an auto shop worker told authorities that Taylor and
another man came to his business late in the afternoon of Aug. 1 and told him
that a friend would be bringing in a truck that needed repairs, according to an
arrest warrant affidavit.

The worker told investigators that Jolley later arrived in a 1990s-model Nissan
Frontier pickup that had extensive front-end damage, the affidavit says.

Taylor told the worker that Jolley had been drunk and had gotten into a wreck,
the affidavit says.

He said they got into a fight with the driver and beat him "pretty bad," the
affidavit states. The worker refused to repair the truck.

In November, Jolley, 21, was indicted on charges of murder and arson, with the
latter charge stemming from allegations that he burned the victim's truck.

Others indicted include: Cody Wayne Clanton, 22, on an arson charge in the
burning of the victim's truck and two aggravated perjury charges accusing him of
lying to a grand jury; Derrick Bowman, 19, on three charges of aggravated
perjury, accusing him of lying to a grand jury; and Joshua Aaron Millican, 25,
on an aggravated perjury charge accusing him of giving false grand jury
testimony.

FORT WORTH -- A 22-year-old man accused of participating in the road-rage attack
on a Garland man that was recorded in a 911 call and then trying to help cover
up the crime was indicted Tuesday by a Tarrant County grand jury.

Brian C. Taylor is now facing trial on charges of assault bodily injury,
tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and conspiring to commit arson
-- charges that arise out of the Aug. 1 stabbing death of Juan Gallegos, a
32-year-old construction worker and father of two.

Taylor is the last of five people to be indicted in the crime or its aftermath,
officials said.

Gallegos' body was found in the parking lot of a cafeteria at Northeast Loop 820
and North Beach Street. Three days later, his Chevrolet pickup, with a damaged
rear section, was found burning in a ravine near the 6000 block of Rusk Street
in Haltom City.

Authorities have said that Gallegos called 911 after the wreck but was unable to
speak to the Haltom City dispatcher who took the call. The call, however,
recorded the attack and the voice of a man accusing Gallegos of
"brake-checking."

Witnesses later identified Taylor's friend, Jeromy Jolley, as the person heard
on the 911 tape stabbing Gallegos, authorities have said.

Taylor was implicated after an auto shop worker told authorities that Taylor and
another man came to his business late in the afternoon of Aug. 1 and told him a
friend would be bringing in a truck that needed repairs, according to an arrest
warrant affidavit.

The worker told investigators that Jolley later drove up in a 1990s model Nissan
Frontier pickup that had extensive front-end damage, the affidavit said. Taylor
told the worker that Jolley had been drunk and had gotten into a wreck, the
affidavit said.

He said they got into a fight with the driver and beat him "pretty bad," the
affidavit stated. The worker refused to repair the truck; the victim's truck was
found three days later burning in the ravine.

In November, Jolley, 21, was indicted on charges of murder and arson, with the
latter charge stemming from allegations that he burned the victim's truck.

Others indicted include: Cody Wayne Clanton, 22, on an arson charge in the
burning of the victim's truck and two aggravated perjury charges accusing him of
lying to a grand jury; Derrick Bowman, 19, on three charges of aggravated
perjury, accusing him of lying to a grand jury; and Joshua Aaron Millican, 25,
on an aggravated perjury charge accusing him of giving false grand jury
testimony.

We have waited long enough. We have suffered long enough and we have watched the
good officers of the Grove Police Station give their help in alleviating the
frustration experienced by motorist "every single morning."

For the past many weeks we have seen the fine and compassionate officers at the
Blue Hill Road and Independence roundabout, making sure that there is a safe and
orderly flow of traffic. It has been a welcome relief to see the officers come
to the driving public's rescue.

But what is woefully absent are the members of the Traffic Department of the
Royal Bahamas Police Force, who sometimes drive past on their motorcycles but
never stopping to lend any assistance. This begs the question, "Where is
Superintendent Cunningham and his staff. What are they doing every morning,
especially when the frustration rises sometimes to violent proportions.

How come some officers on motorcycles are driving around and through heavily
congested roads, bottlenecked at the Independence Roundabout and East Street?
Why is there no officers placed on the East Street roundabout, just like the
Blue Hill roundabout? And why is there no officers on Prince Charles Drive and
Old Trail corner, where motorists make three and four lanes, while a "Jitney"
driver creates a fifth lane, driving like a maniac and endangering the lives of
the occupants?

Where is the Traffic Department "every single morning?" Why are they not on the
job, in an effort to prevent "road rage" from getting worse? Why do the officers
of the Grove Police Station have to leave their post to do the job of the Road
Traffic Department?

I refuse to believe that the Commissioner sanctioned this callous behaviour. I
refuse to believe that there is something else that is more important for the
Traffic Department to do every morning. This vexing situation must be addressed.
People are at each other's throats, just to gain an advantage on the road. This
can be avoided, especially if the police from the traffic department do their
job in the mornings. If it is too much work for the present staff, then the wise
thing to do is seek the help of other departments.

All police should be knowledgeable of all aspects of policing. The separation of
duties stifles the growth of the force and undermines the kind of service that
the public deserves.

Finally, when is the Police going to start "cracking down" on bus drivers about
their "recklessness" and the extreme danger some drivers put their passengers
in, while performing these "high wire acts." The motoring public has been made
to endure enough "bus drivers, driven by greed that is only moments away from
causing disaster by their wanton behaviour. I hope we do not wait for innocent
lives to be lost before we act.

Haiti is the only other country that I visited where people drive as bad or even
worse. Could there be some connection why Bahamians are disregarding all of the
laws on the road. Just a thought, just a thought.

Aryn Stevens is a cool driver. But in the sanctity of his car, dumb maneuvers by
others have him talking to himself.

Stevens was among several research volunteers who drove a G.E. designed
simulator at the University of Utah. The project was part of a major study
conducted by the Department of Psychology.

The system, programmed to pull off everyday situations we all experience,
challenged college aged drivers in the worst way.

Without warning, cars cut them off, braked, or hogged the passing lane.

To increase the level of stress, researchers offered volunteers a little extra
money if they traveled from point "A" to point "B" under a tight schedule.

According to psychology professor Dr. David Strayer, "people started swearing at
inanimate objects or reacting to inanimate objects - giving obscene gestures to
what are just computerized renderings of vehicles."

Men were more likely to lose their cool than women. But even more, men
experienced elevated blood pressure.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Tim Smith says, "if you spend a half hour a day in the
car with your blood pressure at ten or fifteen points higher than normal, that's
not trivial."

In some, the blood pressure actually remained at a high point, especially if
they kept psychologically rehearsing the incident over and over again.

Smith notes, "if you're ruminating , sort of rehearsing all of these injustices
that you suffered behind the wheel - that tends to keep the blood pressure up."

Yours truly got into the simulator. So did photographer Mark Weaver. Eventually,
both of us found ourselves verbally expressing agitations - as if the other
motorists were sitting in the passenger seat.

Smith says most of us - especially men - have sort of a Jekyll-Hyde complex that
sometimes only surfaces when we're behind the wheel.

"At a basic level," he says, "we're kind of territorial and that territory,
while we're driving, is everything that's going on around the vehicle."

Smith advises self therapy - the kind all of us can easily practice safely while
driving. Take a deep breath and count to ten. Quiet that little storm building
inside.

"They're not physically injuring you - nor stealing personal possessions. So let
it go. What you can edit out of your life is thinking about that foolish driver
for the next twenty minutes - which will only keep your blood pressure high."

The Utah study documented an interesting parallel.

Once researchers removed the stress - allowing volunteers to simply drive
leisurely - with no pressing time commitments - motoring actually became a
relaxing, therapeutic experience.

Planning ahead, allowing time to travel, backing off and cooling down when
something happens. They're all part of a psychological profile - a recipe
researchers hope to develop from this study and more to follow.

According to Smith, "Ultimately, we're interested in making people healthier.
This kind of information suggests there's an opportunity to lower stress - thus
lowering its effects on your health."

A woman accused of repeatedly ramming her car into the horse and buggy of a
Nottingham, Pa. man and slashing a police officer with a knife last fall has
been ordered released from prison under a plea bargain.

As part of the agreement, Emma Jo Bandy, 49, of Rising Sun, Md., received credit
for time spent in prison since the Sept. 27th incident.

She will spend Christmas with her family, which includes two children.

Assistant District Attorney William Ross Stoycos told an initially skeptical
Chester County Court Judge Juan Sanchez on Friday that "the commonwealth has
concluded that what Mrs. Bandy needs is mental-health treatment."

The judge ultimately approved a sentence of 83 days to 23 months for resisting
arrest and reckless endangerment.

Bandy must spend two years on probation and undergo mental-health treatment. She
must also pay restitution of $3,000.

Stoycos said both victims, Eli Stoltzfus King, 19, and West Nottingham Township
Police Officer Donald McIvor, were comfortable with the plea agreement.

Defense attorney Francis Miller said Bandy, who suffers from bipolar disorder,
had her medicine changed several weeks before the incident and became
delusional, suddenly believing her children were being kidnapped by the Amish.

Woman used three kids as shields, police say
TRAVERSE CITY - A 27-year-old Grawn woman faces several charges after running
into a patrol car, fleeing on foot and pushing three children into the path of
officers Sunday morning as they chased her into a residence.
Shanda Mae Dunevant was charged Monday with third-degree fleeing from police, a
five-year felony, felonious assault, assault of a police officer, drunken
driving and second-offense driving without a license.
Police said they were called to the intersection of Norton Road and County Road
633 after a motorist reported a road-rage incident involving Dunevant, who
apparently stopped to confront someone she thought was following her.
Dunevant returned to the area shortly after troopers arrived, crashed into a
patrol car that attempted to stop her, drove to a nearby residence and fled on
foot.
Dunevant used three children and her mother-in-law as human shields as police
attempted to arrest her, Trooper Brian Bahlau said.
Dunevant's blood alcohol level was .17, more than twice the legal limit of .08,
according to the charges.

LOWER POTTSGROVE -- A motorist was attacked and stabbed Monday morning after
getting into an argument with another driver, according to police.

Michael Gillespie, of Douglassville, suffered a minor stab wound to the leg in a
scuffle with two unidentified women who then fled the scene in a Ford Mustang,
police said.

Gillespie told police he was driving on Route 422 through North Coventry when
the blue Mustang cut him off at the Route 724 interchange shortly before 9 a.m.

Police said Gillespie passed the car, which proceeded to cut him off as it
turned off the highway at the Armand Hammer Boulevard exit. Gillespie followed
the car, which stopped at the end of the ramp.

Two women, described only as white, one in her 40s and the other in her early
20s, got out of the car and shouted insults at Gillespie, police said.

He got out of his pickup truck and approached the women, and that’s when they
attacked him, police said.

Gillespie had his glasses broken and his shirt ripped from his body. He suffered
scratches to his face and received a minor stab wound to his leg from an unknown
weapon. The women then fled the scene in the Mustang, heading north on Armand
Hammer Boulevard.

SCOTTISH Parliament chiefs came under unprecedented fire from the city council
today over their refusal to lay cobbles on a showpiece street outside the
Holyrood building.

Officials in charge of the £400 million complex have been accused of paying "lip
service" to strict planning regulations by breaking an agreement over Horse Wynd.

The parliament has blamed the council for the latest delay in the opening of the
narrow avenue between the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the controversial
building, insisting it had kept a promise to have it ready to reopen by
Christmas.

But the authority, which has overall responsibility for the roads network, is
refusing to do so because Tarmac has been illegally laid on Horse Wynd. Andrew
Holmes, the council’s director of city development, is refusing to back down on
the issue unless parliament officials spell out when cobbles will be laid down.

The council has already accused the parliament of trying to get the work on the
road, which has been closed for well over a year, done "on the cheap", as the
move has saved the project almost half a million pounds.

But officials have told the council that none of their approved contractors are
willing to take on the work to lay down cobbles. The parliament wants to reopen
the road now and then embark on another closure next year so that the cobbles,
or setts, can be laid down.

It was still unclear today whether the road would be reopened today, with both
sides standing firm. Mr Holmes was due to meet with parliament project managers
today for crunch talks.

A spokesman for the parliament said: "We had said that Horse Wynd will be ready
to open before Christmas and it is.

"However, the decision on the opening of the road is not up to us. The road is
fully complete and the decision on when to reopen it is up to the council."

But Mr Holmes said: "We’re disappointed that the Scottish Parliament are not
complying with the conditions of their planning consent or their road
construction consent.

"I will be seeking assurances today about when the required works will be
completed so that the road can reopen."

Time is running out to get Christmas presents, and that means there's not much
patience out on the streets.

Before you pull your hair out to get that parking space, here's some tips to
keep in mind while driving.

Outside Barton Creek Mall on one of the last day's of holiday shopping a sea of
cars cluttered the land.

"I'm not from Texas originally. I just was telling my husband that Texas drivers
are pretty crazy," holiday shopper Micky Butler said.

Butler, a Philadelphia native, said the holiday rush is on, and all patience is
gone from drivers trying to get that last gift.

Department of Public Safety troopers urge drivers to have patience.

"Pack your patience. Because when you get out on the road, and when you hit a
gridlock if you are not patient it's going to cause you to get into an
aggressive driving situation, and we certainly don't want that," Garry Parker of
DPS said.

DPS troopers want drivers to do five things for Christmas:
Drive the speed limit
Wear your seatbelt
Get some sleep
Don't drive drunk

Keep your cool on the road this holiday.
Parker adds that people need to have parking lot etiquette.

"The Christmas season is notorious for giving and sharing. And if you take that
attitude with you at a parking lot, give the other guy a break. You share that
parking lot with other people that may wind up going a long way to help you," he
said.

Holiday shoppers like Kathy Caldwell have some of their own tips to avoid
parking mayhem.

"If you don't come at noon you're in good shape; if you don't come in the
evening. My husband says there is a 2:30 window, a golden time, when all the
lunch shoppers have finished. You have an open space for parking. I think he is
right," she said.

Pick your time and spots wisely and the last-minute shopping might not be that
bad.

Troopers will be out in full force looking for speeders and people driving under
the influence.

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. -- An Atlanta man died of a gunshot wound Thursday after
his car was fired upon by occupants of another vehicle on Interstate 10 on the
Gulf Coast.

Sgt. Joe Gasize="3o of the Mississippi Highway Patrol identified the victim as
40-year-old Datel Ghanshyam. Four other family members, all adults, were unhurt,
Gasize="3o said.

Gasize="3o said Ghanshyam and his family arrived in Biloxi on Wednesday to go to the
casinos.

About 7 a.m. Thursday, Gasize="3o said they left casinos, getting back on I-10 East
in Ocean Springs. Soon after they merged onto the highway, a small, blue
imported car with a loud, large aftermarket muffler, came up alongside the
family, repeatedly swerving close to them, then getting in front of them and
slowing down.

"Harassing them with actions of the car, you could say," Gasize="3o said.

Gasize="3o said witnesses told investigators that one of the occupants of the
harassing car then got on a cell phone and apparently called another vehicle, a
brown sports utility vehicle, which pulled alongside the Atlanta family and
opened fire with an automatic weapon.

Gasize="3o said the family's vehicle was hit eight times. He said one of the shots
hit Ghanshyam under the arm, killing him instantly.

The other occupants were able to get the vehicle off the road safely.

Gasize="3o said state troopers are investigating but have no suspects or motive in
the incident.

"We're going to look at all the possibilities," Gasize="3o said. "The only thing we
ruled out is it was not because of winnings at the casino. Our first thought was
maybe someone hit a big jackpot and they were followed out, but that was not the
case."

Chandigarh, December 24: THE granddaughter of former Punjab Chief Minister, late
Beant Singh, was today cornered by three youths, who manhandled and abused her,
then snatched her purse. Twenty six-year-old Navneet Kaur only fault was that
she had she failed to give them space to overtake.

The incident occurred around 1pm in Sector 15 along Madhya Marg. The police said
the Sonata had three occupants: a turbaned youth, aged around 25 years was on
the wheel, a gunman in uniform and another youth was sitting on the rear seat.

Navneet, daughter of late CM’s daughter Gurkanwal Kaur and a Phd student at
Panjab University’s English department, was driving a red Maruti (DBO 4290),
towards PU from Sector 17. As she came to Madhya Marg towards Matka chowk, a
white Sonata honked, its driver asking for space to overtake.

‘‘Due to heavy traffic, Kaur could not give the car a pass. The driver kept
honking. Finally, as she passed the sector 10-11-15-16 roundabout on Madhya Marg,
she turned towards the slip road to Sector 15 so that the Sonata could pass. But
it followed her,’’ the investigating policemen say. Near the Sector 15 petrol
pump, the Sonata cornered Kaur’s car and the three occupants stepped out. ‘‘They
started hurling abuses at her saying she did not have driving sense. As Kaur
stepped out, the turbaned youth became more aggressive. He hit her on the face,
and left it bruised,’’ the police say. ‘‘Meanwhile, the gunman guarded the three
from 40-odd persons who had gathered at the spot,’’ they add.

As Kaur saw no help forthcoming, she reached for her mobile lying in her purse
inside the car. ‘‘The turbaned youth snatched her purse and fled. Kaur says the
purse also contained Rs 10,000, a gold chain, a wrist watch and documents of the
car,’’ the police say.

A 56-year-old father and his 23-year-old son were both injured in a road rage
related stabbing Friday.

Police say that an apparent case of road rage led to a fist fight between a
38-year-old male and the father and son. They say that when the man began to
lose the fight he retreated to his car.

According to police the man slashed the pair after they attempted to drag him
from his car. The man was pulled over by police as he was reportedly
transporting himself to the hospital with a self-inflicted stab wound.

The father and son were transported to Washoe Medical Center with non-life
threatening minor slash style wounds.

No arrests have been made and an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

State police are searching for a man who allegedly shot out the window of a car
during an alleged road rage incident in Brighton Township in Livingston County
Monday morning.

The two drivers were passing each other aggressively around 1:45 a.m., according
to a report in The Ann Arbor News. One driver fired a BB gun at the other
vehicle, shattering the glass on the driver's side, police said.

The victim chased the shooter's Mitsubishi Eclipse south on U.S. 23 and called
911 while he was driving, Local 4 reported. He reportedly tried to obtain the
license plate number on the Eclipse.

The shooter exited the freeway at Silver Lake Road and headed toward Whitmore
Lake Road, the station reported. The driver turned off his lights, but still
managed to drive through the area, according to the report.

Police said the driver of the Eclipse could be charged with felonious assault.

Anyone with information should contact Michigan State Police in Brighton at
(810) 227-1051.

CHICAGO -- NBC5's Kim Vatis reported from Area 2 Police Headquarters Wednesday
morning, where police released the name of a man apparently killed while trying
to defuse an overnight incident of "road rage"

Michael Jones, 24, of South Drexel Avenue, in Chicago, was shot after
intervening in a heated argument between a man and a woman involved in a minor
"fender-bender" On South Cottage Grove Avenue, near 78th Street, Vatis said.

Vatis said Jones stepped into the argument to act as a "good Samaritan" just
before witnesses heard at least four gunshots. Jones was shot in the head.

Jones apparently knew the female driver of the vehicle involved in the minor
crash with the gunman's car, according to a Calumet Area detective. Jones came
upon the quarrel "after the fact" and was shot when he tried to intervene, the
detective said. The detective did not know the exact relationship between Jones
and the female driver.

Vatis said the gunman, who apparently was involved in the minor accident that
started the altercation, fled in a Monte Carlo. Witnesses were unsure of the
car's color and said there may have been several people in the car with the
gunman.

Road rage a problem in city, county and state
By Twila Lindblade/Staff writer

Driving down Interstate 45, a red truck veers from one lane to the next. The
driver follows closely behind other vehicles, flashing his lights and using hand
gestures to alert them that he is in a hurry to get to his destination.

His response, and those of other drivers who may try to cut him off or slow him
down are typical instances of road rage. However, in some cases, road rage can
be more serious and sometimes even deadly.

In some states and big cities, a simple issue like one driver cutting off
another can lead to a serious or deadly wreck, a physical assault and more.

Road rage is a common problem on the streets of Walker County and on Interstate
45. Although most drivers on the interstate may not live in the county, the
problem still makes it unsafe for drivers.

Road rage is difficult to define because there are several offenses and all are
typically referred to as road rage.

Aggressive driving includes abrupt movements of a vehicle, unsafe lane changes,
driving closely behind other drivers and "zipping in and out of traffic to where
the flow is interrupted," said Sgt. Jeff Buuck at the Texas Department of Public
Safety.

Reckless driving, which can also be referred to as road rage, is the intentional
disregard for another driver and is a criminal offense. Aggravated assault with
a motor vehicle is another offense which involves a driver using his vehicle to
intentionally harm another vehicle or its occupants.

"If in an assault you use a weapon, you are capable of causing harm or death,"
Buuck said. "A vehicle can be used as a weapon to harm another person."

When investigating a traffic accident, officials look to see if drivers have
committed these types of offenses which may have led to the accident. Road rage
violations on a highway could result in misdemeanor to felony charges, depending
on the situation.

"Everyone else is in jeopardy," Buuck said. "We have to look at the movement of
the vehicles, the driver's mind set, intent, motivation."

Road rage doesn't always mean a person has committed an offense. Often, a law
enforcement officer will recognize a problem between two drivers who have not
committed an offense, but could be disgruntled.

"We may pull them over to see what's going on and to see if there is a safety
issue," Buuck said. "Drivers get frustrated. We are a fast-paced society and
people get uptight."

On streets inside the city limits, Huntsville Police Department officers will
often pull over a driver who has used hand gestures, obscene or otherwise,
during a possible road rage incident.

"We usually have a conversation about driving careful and safe," said HPD
officer Ken Foulch.

The number of reported road rage drivers has increased in the past few years
because of the use of cell phones. Officials recommend that if a motorist
notices another driver who is driving aggressively, they contact the Texas
Department of Public Safety or another local law enforcement office.

Another factor that is sometimes involved in road rage incidents is when a
driver is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. When a person is under the
influence, their judgment is often impaired.

"It's not unusual for us to get a call and find out they are intoxicated," Buuck
said.

In order to promote the safety of others, officials suggest motorists drive
safely.

"An interstate is not the place to play. It's not a playground. A disruption in
the flow of traffic can be critical," Buuck said.

Foulch agreed.

"A lot of people think driving an automobile is a right, but it's not, it's a
privilege," he said.

If a motorist recognizes another person is driving aggressively, officials
recommend avoiding eye contact and moving out of the vehicle's way.

"If someone flashes their lights, don't let your ego or pride get involved. Make
sure it's safe to move over. It could be a medical emergency. It's not your job
to make sure they obey the law," he said.

For those who have road rage problems themselves, officials recommend allotting
more time to get to destinations or using another resource to vent frustration.

"Life is too precious. You don't want an automobile to be the cause of your
death," Foulch said. "Everyone is capable of a bad day, but the wheel should not
become an outtake for aggression. Find a hobby to get out your aggression."

In Houston, the issue of road rage has become such an issue that the Houston
Police Department placed unmarked vehicles on the highway looking for drivers
exhibiting road rage.

Officials said the driver of a car got into an argument with another driver at a
stoplight on Bragg Boulevard. They said one man got out of his car and stabbed
the other driver in the neck, sending him to the hospital.

According to an investigating officer, the incident started on Highway 24/27 in
Harnett County. Five males -- four juveniles and an adult -- were in a 1993
Toyota Paseo. A man and a woman were in the second vehicle, a Chevrolet Camaro.
An argument started between the occupants of the cars when they stopped at a
stoplight.

Police said one of the juveniles in the Toyota produced a knife. The adult
Toyota driver took the knife and stabbed the Chevy driver in the neck. As the
Toyota drove off, the female who was in the Camaro threw a bottle though the
Toyota's rear window.

The Chevy driver was transported to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. There was
no word on his condition.

A man has been arrested in connection with a road rage killing that occurred on
New Year's Eve on the Second Northern Freeway, police said yesterday.
Kao Shih-chang, 20, allegedly stabbed to death a golf club manager, Chang
Meng-kuang, who the suspect thought had gotten in his way on the busy Lungtan
section of the highway on the evening of Dec. 31, police said.

Kao, speeding north to Taipei to attend New Year's Eve celebrations, intercepted
the SUV Chang was driving, got out and smashed the windows of the victim's
vehicle, police said.

The suspect then allegedly used a samurai sword to stab the victim, who died
later at a hospital, police said.

Kao, a drug addict, admitted to the crime, but said he might have mistaken
Chang's car for another SUV that had actually blocked him earlier on the
highway, according to police.

He went into hiding in central Taiwan after the killing, during which he
allegedly seriously injured another driver in another road rage incident in
Houli, Taichung County on Friday evening.

Having identified Kao's car thanks to witnesses' accounts, police found him
heading north at about 160 kmph along the Sun Yat-sen Freeway at about 1 a.m.
yesterday, and managed to intercept him at the Tsaochiao toll station in Miaoli
County.

Police said Kao was probably looking for another target when he was arrested.

Kao said he was alone when he killed Chang, but the China Times Express quoted
witnesses as saying there were three other people in the suspect's car at the
time.

Was it `road rage' or an accident?
( 2004-01-05 00:48) (China Daily by Xiao Liu)

A heated debate started yesterday across the nation over a legal case involving
a middle-aged woman thought to be a relative of a high-ranking official who
killed one person and injured another 12 when she drove her BMW vehicle into a
crowd in Harbin in Heilongjiang Province.

The suspect Su Xiuwen is standing trail. [Filephoto/Sina]
Debate focused on whether the death and injuries were actually deliberate and
the sentence was lenient due to her relationship with the official.

The 45-year-old woman defendant was sentenced last month by a local court to two
years' imprisonment with a three-year reprieve.

Online comments reckoned the court decided on a "too light punishment'' because
the driver, Su Xiuwen, was reportedly a daughter-in-law of the chairman of
Heilongjiang Provincial Political Consultative Conference.

Local police denied the rumour late last month.

The Beijing News reported that the case will undergo further investigations by
local police, in response to a demand from higher authorities. The result of the
investigation is said to be required to be submitted by Saturday.

The Harbin Daoli District People's Court, in the lawsuit's first hearing,
decided that it is a traffic accident caused by Su's negligence, instead of an
intentional crime out of anger.

But netizens obviously disagreed.

Among some 70,000 comments on the news on Sina, a famous Chinese web portal,most
netizens said the court judgment is unfair to the victims, especially the woman
that was killed by Su's BMW, also 45 years old.

Many comments appealed for a retrial of the case as they believed it is not an
ordinary traffic accident but an intentional murder.

The vehicle involved will be tested by experts to decide what indeed was the
cause, sources said.

The brand, BMW, might also be a reason for the great attention given to the
case. It is a symbol of wealth in this country, where some experts warn the
rich-poor gap has widened to a very critical degree.

On October 16, the dead victim's husband, Dai Yiquan drove a quadricycle full of
green Chinese onions in Harbin's Daoli District and scratched the rear view
mirror of Su's BMW car, according to the indictment of the local procuratorate.

Su then got out of the car and began to beat Dai. Keeping silent, Dai did not
hit back, said sources.

Surrounding residents then advised Su to back her car up a little to see how
serious her mirror was damaged.

The the astonishing thing happened.

The BMW suddenly rushed into Liu Zhongxia, Dai's wife who stood around 30
centimetres in front of the vehicle. Liu was killed immediately.

Su continued to drive the car for around 10-odd metres, knocking down another
dozen people and was stopped by a tree on the roadside. The last person to be
knocked down was sandwiched between the car and the tree.

Local police said that Su made a mistake by stepping on the accelerator instead
of the brake pedal that she intended to strike, due to being flustered.

"But I feel that a normal driver could have responded quickly... that she struck
so many people including killing one,'' Hui Baogang, a local lawyer told the
Beijing News.

An anonymous net citizen who uses the same model vehicle as Su's -- a BMW X5 3.0
-- listed eight reasons online to prove Su intentionally rushed into the crowd
to murder.

"The brake pedal of this car is much wider than the accelerator. I do not think
a driver couldn't feel the big difference,'' the net citizen said.

Others focus on whether Su indeed spoke the words "Do not you believe that I
will knock you dead?'' before getting into the car.

Dai Qingjiang, nephew of Dai Yiquan said a person at the scene told him that Su
uttered that phrase before knocking 13 people down.

But nobody indicated that at court. Du's daughter was quoted in Shenyang Today
newspaper:

"My mother was 45 years old when she was killed by the BMW and Su Xiuwen is 45
years old as well,'' 16-year-old Dai Mengyao, daughter of Liu Zhongxia, said.

"But their fate is different. Su drives an expensive BMW and my mother now can't
even sell onions now,'' she said.

The girl said she does not care whether Su is punished to imprisonment of one
year or 10 years, "It is not important at all since my mum is not here.''

Su told the Beijing News, "I am a victim as well. I can go nowhere now.''

Su paid Dai Yiquan more than 90,000 yuan (US$11,000) in compensation and the
other 12 injured were paid about 180,000 yuan (US$22,000) in total.

The Shenyang Today reported that Su signed a deal with Dai, requiring Dai not to
pursue the case any further, including speaking to the news media.